


Parasidic Platinum

by Silveriolu16



Category: Pokemon
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-04
Updated: 2015-11-03
Packaged: 2018-04-29 21:08:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 6
Words: 32,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5142485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silveriolu16/pseuds/Silveriolu16
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based off Pokemon platinum. Rafe is a mess. He has a parasite living inside him, has a crush on his best friend, and the starter pokemon don't like him. This is his story through the Sinnoh region.     *warnings* depictions of violence, oc main character, based off game (platinum,) sexual situations, adult language      *pairings*   male oc (main character)/male oc      *characters* male main character (oc) Barry (sort of) Dawn (sort of) and others</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. prologue of sinnoh

Author's notes:  
Though this story will mostly follow the Platinum time line, there are some differences readers should be aware of.

* characters *  
Most characters will be based off known game (or manga) characters, but not be exactly the same. Examples of this are the three characters I will be using the most.  
\- Rafiel — He is based off of Lucas (Dia from the manga) but isn't the same.  
\- Koji — Is based off some of Barry's personality (and possibly the colors he wears) but not much else will be the same.  
\- Gabrielle — Will be based off of Dawn somewhat. She will be Prof. Sycamore's assistant (and Johanna's daughter) which as the partner character, does not fit with the game.  
\- All tm's in this story will be multi-use like in Black and White. -  
I will post other changes (if any) with following chapters.

Note 2:  
Characters in this story will have nicknames or names they prefer to be called. For the most part, Rafiel will prefer to be called 'rafe' and Gabrielle will want to be called 'brielle.' Only Rafiel is allowed to call her Gabby. Koji's name is short enough that he won't have a nickname. I will be using the shortened versions of their names with character points of view, so that's why I brought this up now.

Key:  
* ... * equals thinking.  
\- * * * * — equals battle

BEFORE I FORGET!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any affiliated parties. They are the property of their copyright holders. I also don't own the song I borrowed lyrics from here either. I only own my characters (Rafe, Gabby, and Koji) and my own ideas.

* * * Prologue * * *  
\- Prologue of Sinnoh -

 

Johanna, Sunday October 1, 23:00 (Outside Floroma city Pokemon center) —

 

I stood staring out into the clear night, watching the small speck fly away. That speck was my Staravia, taking a package to Rafiel. I had wanted to be there when he left in the morning on his pokemon journey, but he'd urged me to go to the contest that had been going on. So that's how I came to be here, in Floroma city, alone but for my pokemon.

I'd wrapped up several things I thought would be useful on his journey in the package. Also, there was a surprise for him. He'd talked non-stop about fighting types after learning about them in school, so I'd finally gotten him one. A friend of mine (who prefers to remain annonymous) was able to acquire a Tyrogue egg. I knew that Rafiel wanted a Hitmonlee, and was confident he could figure out how to train the Tyrogue to get just that outcome.

* Tonight Gabrielle and Rafiel are staying with Koji's family. Wonder how they're doing? *  
Koji was a good friend of theirs from school. I trusted his parents to keep the teens out of trouble, but usually Koji was the one who started it.

* I worry about Rafiel most of all though. When he first got here he was in such bad shape. If Gabrielle hadn't found him, he might've died. *  
He was so small and thin, I couldn't tell if he was a boy or girl. It also seemed that someone had been torturing him mentally, for when he woke up (yes, he was unconscious when my daughter brought him home) he wasn't right in the head. He was confused, disoriented, and seemed to have forgotten who he was.

* He's done better than I expected since then. He remembers a good chunk of what he's lost, has a name that he can call his own, and has friends and family. *  
Gabrielle and I weren't the biggest family in the world, but we did love him. Though I'd adopted him, he was my son in all but blood, something which I was sure Gabrielle would agree with me on.

He does have this tendency ... to touch people a lot, which is a little odd for a kid his age. I think it may have to do with being blind, but there could be more to it. He would deny it, but I know that the way he is around my daughter and his best friend is clingy. He seems to be fascinated by both of them.  
* With how he's grown up even this much is phenomenal. *

 

Rafe, Monday October 2, early morning (Koji's bedroom) —

 

I lay curled on my side, facing the door. I knew I was asleep, but knowing that didn't make what was going on in my mind any easier to ignore. Fog drifted and swirled in lazy spirals, hiding some images and uncovering others.

Finally the images stopped moving, one particular image becoming sharp and clear. It was me as a child, not much different from now other than being smaller and having red eyes. I knew there was something wrong with that. I was young when they started hurting me, but not as young as this 'me' appeared. This child was five or six, and I was pretty sure I was almost eight when that 'thing' was put in me.

Just when I thought things were going to get weirder, everything went black. If this were the waking world, I would be happy about that, but inside my head darkness was never a good thing. Through the darkness I thought I could hear something. Shuffling feet maybe? The fact that I was no longer alone was confirmed by a loud angry cry.  
"Electabuuuuzz!!!"

I felt my blood run cold. Without thinking, I ran, not caring where, just as long as it was away from the monster. If it got me I was dead ... or there'd be more pain. That was the last thing I wanted.

No matter how far and fast I ran, it caught up with me. I blinked and was able to see a little as the monster came closer. It was glowing, electricity surrounding most of its body. When I tried to run again I couldn't, frozen in place with fear. It let loose the electricity, every volt and spark entering my body.

— — —

I woke panting, the tightness around my eyes letting me know they were probably red or yellow. I doubted yellow though, the parasite had actually slept with me last night, so should be groggy now. It took me a few minutes to figure out why my hands felt numb, the sheets I'd been sleeping with were gripped in my hands tightly. It would be so easy to rip them now, even the parasite wouldn't need to help much with how hard I was holding onto them.

I grabbed a shirt from the floor and slipped it on. I only wore boxers at night, walking around nearly-naked (even in my best friend's house) wasn't the smartest idea. I didn't think Gabby or Koji would care, but if his parents were around they'd throw a fit. They didn't actually know I was gay, but walking around like that would give them the wrong idea. I didn't care if people knew, but having them know that their son was best friends with a gay boy would be bad. They were both so anti-gay, they might try and kill me if they found out.

I made my way to the kitchen from memory, running a hand through my messy black hair.  
"How ya feelin' Rafe?" Gabby asked.  
I smiled. "Better now that you're here,"  
She chuckled. "We both know you'd rather I were male for the type of comfort you want,"  
I blinked, not having expected her to be so open about that here.  
She must have noticed my odd behavior (which was only odd to those who really knew me well) because she put a gentle hand on my arm.  
"Palmer and Kate are both at work already," she told me.  
I nodded, relieved. The last thing I wanted this morning was to have to deal with the fall-out of them finding out.

"I made bacon and eggs, want some?"  
"Sounds great,"  
She walked off to make me a plate, while I sat down. The parasite enhanced my senses way beyond that of a normal human. I could have heard her making up the plate from the backyard if I really concentrated.

She put the plate down in front of me. I sniffed, confirming what I thought she'd made: eggs, bacon, and toast. She'd also brought some orange juice over as well. The scraping of wood against tiles let me know she'd sat down.  
"So how did you really sleep?"

There was no point in trying to hide this from her, she'd bug me until I told her. So I told her, not leaving anything out.  
"And you've never had one like that before?"  
I chewed a few times, holding up a hand to let her know I was doing so and not ignoring her.  
"Not exactly like that ... usually I look more ... normal."  
Though she knew more about me than mom or Koji, she didn't know about the parasite, and I planned to keep it that way. This was my burden to deal with.

I was done with the food in no time flat, the dream (or nightmare as Gabby liked to call it) having drained so much out of me. Of course, I was ravenous afterward. I thanked her for the food, washing my dishes in the sink quietly. I had no idea if Koji was up yet, so I didn't want to wake him.

"What time is it anyway?" I asked.  
I groaned, the thick band of leather around my wrist reminding me just how stupid that question sounded.  
* I must be worse off than usual to forget I'm wearing my watch. *  
"It's almost seven. I keep waiting for Koji to barge through the door singing that Magikarp song he likes so much ..."  
Right on queue said boy's voice rang out loud and clear:

"Hey you Pika-chu  
I want you on my team  
Your shocking 'lectric powers compliment ..."  
I shook my head, grimacing. We both knew Koji couldn't sing to save his life right after he woke up.  
"... So feel the wrath of Magikarp!"  
"And that's my clue to leave sis," I said just loud enough she'd hear.

I made my way to the shower in Koji's room, shedding my clothes and turning on the spray. It was a good thing he had no problem sharing his room with me. I loved Gabby (she was my sister even though she hadn't always been) but sharing a room with her woulda been so awkward. I washed myself thoroughly, paying extra attention to my ankle length hair. I made sure to wash around and under the tiny braids I usually kept it in before stepping out. And yes, the entire long mass was twisted into tiny little braids.

As I was grabbing a towel I heard running footsteps. By the sound of it, Koji was running up the stairs and would enter the room within seconds. I quickly wrapped the towel around my waist, the door opening mere seconds after.  
"Hi. R-Rafe c-can you get dressed?"

By the sound of his voice I guessed he was embarrassed.  
* Why? It's not like you've never seen me naked before. We've gone swimming in the lake plenty of times without clothes on ... this summer in fact ... *  
I shrugged, turning my back to him as I took out the outfit mom had bought for the journey today.

I slipped on a pair of black boxers, covering them with black jeans. A dark red t-shirt went over that, with a blue and black leather jacket finishing off the outfit. I turned back around and felt on the ground for my dark grey and white boots, finally locating them underneath the bed Koji usually slept in.  
* I really don' wanna know how they got there ... *  
The last thing I put on was a scarf Koji had given me last year as a birthday present. It was dark red with a black and white poke ball design.

Once I was dressed I stood up, listening to his breathing for a moment before turning in the direction I would most likely be able to face him.  
"That outfit looks really good on you. Hey! You watch the program on tv this morning?"  
I rolled my eyes playfully.  
"How was I supposed ta see it?"  
That got us both to laugh.

"Did you though?" he asked, both his hands suddenly on my shoulders.  
* What's up with that? *  
His voice sounded serious too, which was a little odd for him.  
I shrugged again.  
"Musta been talkin' ta Gabby when it was on."  
"It was about the pokemon lab Professor Rowan owns. We should go over there and see if he has any pokemon we can have!"

If I wasn't used to how fast Koji normally talked I'd have a headache at this point.  
"Ok then, let's go,"  
"Really?" he asked, his hands moving down my arms to take both of my hands in his.  
"You forgot your gloves,"

I smiled, shoving him back a little.  
"Is that s'pposed ta be an invitation Koji?"  
Even as I said it, I was sure that was the wrong thing to do. He let go of my hands, walking over to the only desk in the room.  
"Here," he said, putting said black fingerless gloves into my hands. Then he left the room.

* Well that was monumentally moronic ... *  
I sighed, running a hand through my hair.  
* Next time I need ta figure out how ta flirt and keep him from runnin' ... *  
I put the gloves on and made my way downstairs.

— — —

It was completely silent downstairs.  
"Did you say something again?" the only girl in the house asked.  
"Like what? Sometimes anything I say gets him to run off. I'm not even sure what his deal is!"  
I hadn't meant to yell at the end, but since it was out I couldn't do anything about it. I moved to the kitchen counter and slid the set of snow goggles I usually wore around my neck on. I shut my eyes, knowing they would be red by now. I felt it too, the parasite was not happy right now. Accusing me of something without an explanation was an invitation to kill in its book, and if this were anyone else I would agree.  
"All I did was flirt a little. He started it, holding my hands and all ..."

She sighed. "When are you two going to stop being idiots?"  
I blinked, snickering, then rolled my eyes. With the parasite so close, they would be a mixture of dark blue and blood-red, something made even more creepy when rolled. I knew it freaked her out, so I used it as much as possible. It got her to shut up most of the time, and this was no exception.  
"I just wish that he would ... or you would ... do something!"

I shook my head, pulling the goggles over my eyes.  
"Until he figures out what he wants, not happenin'"  
"But ..."  
"Every time I try something he runs. If he won't come out and do something himself what am I supposed ta do?"  
She sighed, putting something in my hands.  
"Mom sent this for you last night. Says the 'gifts' will be useful."  
* I'll havta thank her later ... *

I went back into the bedroom, coming out with my pack. I put the package inside and was surprised when Gabby pushed something else into my arms.  
"What's this?"  
"Food for the journey. That's a field container, got it from the professor."  
I put the food in the pack and closed it, slinging it over my shoulders.

My arms were around her after, hugging her tight.  
"Thanks sis,"  
"Don't mention it. Move, you're gonna make me blush Rafe."  
I smirked, but pulled back.  
* Where the hell is Koji? *  
"Sis did you see where Koji ran off to?"

"How do you know he didn't just walk off somewhere?"  
I rolled my eyes, not caring that she wouldn't see it.  
"Since when does Koji ever 'just walk somewhere'?"  
"Fair enough bro! He went outside ... hope he didn't get into trouble again ..."  
And yes, she meant that. The orange-loving boy was always getting himself into trouble.

I hugged her again, feeling like I wouldn't see her again for a really long time.  
"Ease up a little, you're a lot stronger than ya look r'member,"  
I winced slightly, loosening my grip.  
"Sorry,"  
"I put a few extra items in your pack and also gave you a full pouch of Oran, Sitrus, Pecha, Cheri, and Persim berries from the garden."  
"Thanks again sis,"

She giggled.  
"Speaking of orange-guy, he's pacing outside on the porch."  
I concentrated, trying to pinpoint the origin of the sounds I was hearing from outside. I'd been ignoring them the best I could, the 'thunk thunk thunk' enough to annoy both me and the parasite if I let it.  
"I better go out there and see what he's doing then,"  
"Good luck," Gabby chirped as I shoved the front door open.

"Have you been gossiping like old ladies in there? Let's go!"  
Though he sounded kind of angry, I knew that wouldn't last for long. He could never be angry at me for long. I would talk to him later though: hopefully get some points across that needed to be said.

As he started walking (or jogging more like) I heard water in the distance.  
* North? If he wanted to go to the lake why didn't he just say so? *

We hadn't gone very far when I heard him stop. He backed up, slamming right into me. I grit my teeth, grabbing his arm to keep him from falling.  
"Thanks, didn't see you there," he said before running back toward the house.  
* What is it now? He coulda at least gotten what he wanted back there, we were alone ... *

* Wow Koji. You're a sighted person who couldn't see a blind person five feet from himself ... *  
I went inside too, wondering what he'd forgotten this time. He did things like this a lot, but thankfully hadn't been forgetful at school.

Gabby was laughing loudly as I came in.  
"What the?"  
"I forgot my pack ..." Koji muttered, patting my shoulder lightly.  
He pushed open the door and I followed him out.

It only took me a few seconds to figure out where he'd gone. He wasn't exactly loud, but he did tend to run around a lot, which I was used to hearing. It was easy to follow a target you knew so well. And of course, we were off toward the lake again.

Instead of turning to go into the forest near the lake he went straight for Route 201.  
* This is crazy even for you. We have no pokemon idiot! *  
"Hey Rafe let's get going ..."  
There was no doubt more, but I tuned him out. I could hear footsteps approaching distantly as well, but wasn't paying enough attention to care.  
* Why do you always jump right into everything? At least I try to think before doing anything stupid. *

Gabby's voice caught my attention, bringing me back to reality.  
"Sorry, what?"  
She rubbed my arm lightly then put something on the ground. It made a 'thud' but did not sound overly heavy.  
* A box maybe ... *  
I turned my head to try and figure out what the voices nearby were saying — sounded like Koji and Prof. Rowan — when my mind went blank.

I felt my body stiffen unnaturally, a clear sign 'it' had taken over completely. If I wasn't wearing the goggles I'd have glowing yellow eyes. The goggles must have slid off my face at some point, because the parasite currently controlling my body shoved them roughly back into place.  
* And here comes the part where I always think I'm nuts ... *  
Though I could think, I had absolutely no control over my body.

A few minutes later an image of an old man wearing a white lab coat 'flashed' into my mind. And yes, 'flashed' is the only word I can think of to explain it. The image just popped into existence, freaky for me considering I'd never been able to see. The man had a nicely trimmed white beard and mustache, but he wasn't what I focused on.

The next image came, a boy with light orange eyes and dark orange hair. I'd seen this one before ... a lot actually. This was how Koji looked. I'd even drawn the image several times in my sketch books, which he'd never been allowed to look at.  
* If he knew how much I obsess over him he'd run for sure ... and that time I don't think he'd come back ... *

I let my 'eyes' (for that's all I could be using right now) roam his body, taking note of every small cut, bruise, and scar. The parasite was the one with vision, but every time I saw him it felt like they were my eyes. As much of a curse as having the 'thing' inside me was sometimes, being able to see Koji was worth it.

— — —

Gabby's hand shaking me was the only way I knew I had control again. My limbs didn't feel so alien and sluggish to my mind's commands. I could have fought against the parasite for control sure (it was still light out) but it would have hurt like hell and scattered the image of Koji i'd come to love so much.  
"You still in there?" she asked.

I nodded. "Yeah,"  
"You should try out one of the pokemon I brought for you."  
I smiled a little.  
"Ok."

I picked up the first ball I found in the briefcase she held and tossed it in the air.  
"Chimchar!"  
For a moment nothing happened, then the pokemon started yelling (screeches to my ears) and running toward me. The cry brought back memories of the dream from earlier, and I was too panicked to do anything but stand there. I felt like the child-me again, helpless to do anything because running just wasn't enough.

Just when I thought the monster would crash into me my mind went completely blank of all thoughts, my body moving out of the way of its own accord.  
* Thanks I think ... *  
It could have only been the parasites' doing.  
* So what, you get scared of me and attack. How weak and stupid ... You won't be comin' with me. *

"Here's his ball," Gabby said, handing it to me.  
I recalled the Chimchar.  
"Guess it's my turn then! Go poke ball!" said Koji.

The parasite took over again, giving me an image of a blue and white penguin-pokemon as it came out of the ball.  
"Piplup!"  
It happily cooed and went over to Koji. The parasite gave me the image of the penguins' face, the little bird giving me a wary look.  
* Am I dangerous to you buddy?! *

I threw the last ball, hoping this one would like me. No such luck. The pokemon (a Turtwig by the cry it made) ran into the grass. At first I thought it was hiding, but then it ran toward me.

Without really even thinking I stepped aside, avoiding its attack.  
* What's with them? *  
I sent Turtwig back into its ball and hung my head in defeat.  
* None then? How do I go on my journey without a pokemon? *

"Bro try this one,"  
I pulled off the goggles (letting them hang around my neck) and took it.  
* Might as well give it a shot. *  
"Ralts!"

The 'ralts' immediately made its way toward me, leaning against my legs. I gently nudged it with my foot then bent down to pick it up. It was smaller than I'd expected, and had ... a horn on its head?  
"He's a psychic type bro. You said you wanted one. Oh and it's a boy,"

I smiled in Gabby's direction.  
"He's awesome sis,"  
"What you gonna call him?"  
I thought for a moment, my hands running through the little guy's short hair.  
"Lux,"

— — —

"Let's battle,"  
"You're on," I said, kneeling down to put Lux on the ground.  
"I am so gonna beat ya!"  
"And if you do what do you want as a prize?" I asked with a wink.  
"P-please don't do that in front of people." Koji said.  
"Fine,"

\- * * * * -

"Growl," Koji ordered.  
* What moves does he know? I've never studied Ralts before. *  
"Tackle!" was Koji's next command.  
I heard Ralts soft footsteps as he moved out of the penguin's path.  
* I feel like such an idiot right now ... *  
The elemental starters of every region had basic attacks that were taught at the school in Sandgem (which Gabby, Koji, and myself had attended) but Ralts wasn't one of them, so I was lost.

A thud was heard.  
* He must have dodged and the bird couldn't stop in time. Nice! *  
Due to the parasites' interference, I was able to see the next thing Ralts did. A blue-ish white flame circled the Piplup a few times before landing a solid hit, giving it the burn status.  
* Now it will take damage gradually ... great idea ... *

It was silent now, not even the sound of breathing from the pokemon could be heard. Before I could start panicking (I was afraid of this silence) the parasite took over. I felt the goggles slide back into place as images started forming in my head.

The first was the penguin and his trainer, the next something that shouldn't be possible. Ralts slunk out of a shadow and slammed headlong into the bird, knocking it to the ground. Another image showed that the bird had an x in each eye.  
* Wow ... what attack was that? *

\- * * * * -

A hand landed on my shoulder after I'd gotten Ralts from the ground.  
"Koji?"  
"What, I need to give you this."  
A wad of bills was placed in my hand. The parasite quickly took over and counted it for me. Five hundred poke dollars.

— — —

Back at Koji's house the parasite took control again.  
* What the fuck? *  
I felt my arm reach down and pick up something — a package. There was a note tied to the top, and the 'thing' got right to work reading it.  
'thought you might need these — mom'  
Before I could try and force the parasite to give up control I was the one opening the box.  
* That was fast ... *

Inside there were a pair of shoes.  
"Those are running shoes bro! Mom send them?"  
"Yeah," I said, pulling them out.  
I took off my boots, (putting them in my pack for later use) and slid on the new shoes.  
"They're dark red and black bro," Gabby said.  
She sounded so happy I just had to hug her.

"U-uh should I come back later?" Koji asked.  
* He musta just gotten here ... *  
I smirked, laying my head on Gabby's shoulder.  
"You jealous Koji?"  
A soft growl was the response to that. Images from the parasite told me I was most likely the only one who heard it.  
* Why would Koji care? He always runs when I try anything. *

"Y-you're not with her are you?"  
I grimaced, stepping away from the girl.  
"Fuck no, she's my sister."  
"I also don't have the right equipment ... but he probably didn't want you to know that."  
I glared in the direction of Gabby's voice.  
"Why didn't you tell me you were gay?" Koji asked, sounding ... hurt ... betrayed ... angry?

I sighed. "Look Koji,"  
I walked up to him, grabbing both his wrists to make sure he didn't leave. He could definitely break the hold (he lifted weights and was more muscular than me) but he didn't have parasite strength on his side. If I wanted him to stay, he would, consequences be damned.

"I knew it would get out at some point. I was trying to find the best way to tell you ... I was worried if I did, you'd speak out against ... me for being gay ... or your parents ... and defend me. I didn't want you to lose them because of me."  
He sighed, shaking out of my grip.  
"But why didn't you just tell me? I'm your best friend! Sorry Gabby but it's the truth."  
"I know," she said quietly.

"I was afraid of how you'd react. Sometimes people ... especially other guys freak out when their best friend — another guy — is gay. And if you did reject me ... I'd ..."  
And there I stopped, unable to put how I felt into words. I was actually more afraid of doing that right now than the fact that he knew my secret. Sometimes I had irrational fears I just couldn't shake, and talking about my feelings (something that had gotten me beaten and worse when I was in the labs) one of the worst ones. Well that and claustrophobia.

"So you were afraid of how I'd react, I get that. But if I'm really your friend, wouldn't I accept you no matter what?"  
"In theory yes," Gabby said, trying to help.  
"Not now Gabrielle,"  
I only called her that when I was angry or frustrated so it was understandable that she walked away after that.

"I can't tell you more because I'm afraid to ... it goes with what happened to me before I was adopted."  
"But what does that havta do with being gay?"  
"I ... talking about how I really feel was what ... I was a lab rat Koji. They poked and prodded and did lots of horrible things to me. If I spoke out I was beaten, if I even spoke at all I was whipped, having feelings and emotions of my own was the worst ..."

Something I said must have gotten through to him because he pulled me against him, running soothing hands through my hair.  
"You don't havta tell me more. If it makes you feel any better I'm glad you're gay,"  
"What?" I asked, my voice sounding rough due to the tears I was holding back.  
"I said I'm glad you're gay. I figured out I am too a year ago."

— — —

A few hours later we were both back on Route 201. Koji convinced me to go to the lake, so we did. When we got there the parasite took over and gave me an image of a man with blue hair that appeared to be watching us.  
* Fuckin' creepy ... *

I started training Lux, making sure he got as much exp. as he could. When he reached lv 7 I was ready to go back to Route 201. For a while Koji'd stayed with us, doing his own training, but eventually he'd left. The parasite did a check of the area, sending me images of forest and water and grass with only pokemon as occupants, but I still felt uneasy in this place.

When I stepped back onto Route 201 I breathed a sigh of relief. On the route I spent some time training with Ralts again. When he was lv 10 we were ready to move onward.


	2. chapter 1

—- Pokemon, pokemon  
it's all about the challenges, it's a brand new game and a brand new world  
new rivals as you fight for survival, nothing can stop you diamond and pearl

pokemon  
it's all about the battle, you gotta play smart  
you gotta move faster, behind every win there's a chance to begin again  
you gotta take it all if you wanna be a master!

pokemon, pokemon  
it's time for adventure diamond and pearl, we can save the world  
pokemon —- "diamond and pearl" theme song 1

Warnings  
Modified characters, yaoi (boy x boy relationships) vulgar language, violence (not yet, but coming later). Anything else will be warned about when it comes up.

Pairings  
There is only one decided so far: Rafe and Koji. So technically that would be male main character and Barry, but I'm not gonna go there.

Key:  
* ... * equals thinking  
— * * * * — equals battle

* * * Chapter I * * *  
\- Game Start! -

 

Rafe, Monday October 2 - 10:45 (On Route to Sandgem town) —-

 

Though I wanted to get started on the journey, I remembered Gabby saying she could heal my pokemon before I left town. So that's where I went, back to Koji's.  
"This is the last time you'll see me like this for a while," Gabby said as she handed Lux back to me.  
He liked to either walk around or be carried, which I wasn't going to argue with.  
* If it was me, I'd insist on being out of that tiny thing too ... *

"What do you mean?"  
Lux nuzzled my arm, probably seeing something on my face I couldn't hide.  
"I have to go to work now. You r'member I said I was starting soon?"  
I nodded. "Right, see you 'round then?"  
"As Rowan's assistant, but yes,"

The next town over was Sandgem, a place I'd been to lots of times. This was where the school I'd attended until recently with Gabby and Koji was located. We weren't ditching, we'd just finished the schooling we could there.  
* Not sure if leaving is good or bad ... I have so many memories of this place ... *

The images the parasite gave me of the town weren't necessary as I navigated to a bench near the school. I was still wearing the goggles, but somehow the 'thing' could see through the paint mom'd used to black out the lenses. I stopped at the bench and opened my pack, intending to see what little surprises mom and Gabby had left me.

I took out the package from mom first, undoing the ties to reveal its contents. Inside was a Black belt, Luck incense, Dawn stone, tm 27 Return and an egg. I got all the information curtesy of the parasite, but I felt everything as well to confirm what I 'saw.'  
* Wonder what's inside the egg? Hope it's strong. *

I reached into the pack, feeling the 3 Quick balls I'd put there, souvenirs from a far off city mom'd visited once. Three tm's were also there, tm 31 Brick break, tm 43 Secret power, and tm 34 Shock wave.  
* From Gabby probably ... *  
The Potion and Awakening I'd saved from a few years back were also in the pack as well.  
* Glad I saved these ... *

I pulled out the pouch Gabby'd put the berries in, discovering 2 each of Oran, Sitrus, Pecha, Cheri, and Persim. The field container was also there of course. I'd made sure to bring my drawing materials: 3 sketch books, 6 pens, 5 pencils, and an eraser. Despite never having truly seen anything, drawing had become an outlet for my anger and helped calm me down. I usually drew things I'd 'seen' through the parasites' help.

I also brought some heavy winter gear. In this part of Sinnoh, it got cold a lot around this time of year, so it might actually be necessary. It consisted of thermal underwear, heavier gloves that covered my entire hand, earmuffs, and I'd wear the boots I'd started with if it was really that cold. The kit I used to take apart and modify electronics was inside too, several tools, a few chips with programs I'd created myself, and some cleaning products (in small bottles). The last thing in the pack was a pair of sunglasses. I used them when I was going to be inside a lot. The goggles could get bulky and hot in situations like that.

As I was closing and putting the pack back on a familiar voice called out to me.  
"Rafe!"  
It was Gabby of course.  
"Yeah?"  
"Follow me to the lab," she said, her voice joking even though I knew this would be part of her job.  
* If I forgot where the lab was there'd be something seriously wrong with me. *  
Though she was the one who worked for him, I'd helped out at the lab dozens of times with field research and running errands.

I growled in the back of my throat when I arrived, something (or someone) had just barreled into me.  
"Sorry about that ... Hi Rafe!"  
* Oh good it's you. Finally someone I can stand around here ... *  
The joke was valid, extremely happy and easily excited people normally drove me up the goddamned walls.

"Here, I meant to give you this earlier and forgot,"  
A box was put into my hands.  
I blinked. "Well open it," Koji said.  
I shrugged, opening it. Inside was something that looked like my watch. I pulled the goggles off and smiled at him.

"You got me a poke-etch Koji?"  
"Yeah, I meant to put my apps on it, but didn't wanna mess with it 'till you'd put your programs and stuff on it first."  
* Good idea ... *  
I hugged him briefly.  
"Thanks so much,"

He laughed a little.  
"You should have one. Here, let me type my number in."  
I heard him do so then he handed the device back.  
"I typed out instructions for you ... they're in the box. I should really get going Rafe,"  
I nodded. "Go then, see you 'round right?"  
"Definitely. See ya later!"

At the bottom of the box (after moving packaging and such out of the way) I found several sheets of paper. I was shocked to find that the 'typed' instructions were in braille.  
* I taught him how to read and write it a while ago, didn't think he remembered ... or even had access to a way to write it ... *  
After reading I touched the 'face' of the poke-etch, noticing there were engraved symbols there. More reading explained what they meant.  
* So that's why you took so long, it musta been hard to do this without damaging the device ... *

In the lab Professor Rowan asked me if I could help him with something. Instead of explaining the task (like I thought he would) a mostly flat object was given to me. A little questing with my fingers (and an image from the parasite) revealed it to be a Pokedex.  
"You want me to fill this for you? I thought you were still working on it?"  
"I finished it this morning."  
As I was about to leave the professor stopped me, handing tm 06 Toxic to me.

The man followed me outside.  
"Good you're here Gabrielle. I have things to do, but she can show you around town."  
* Like I need it. Unless they changed the buildings around somehow in the last few days ... *  
"Ok professor, follow me Rafe,"

She pointed out various locations to me, the Pokemon center, the Pokemart, and the Trainers' school to name just a few.  
"I must go now, see you later." Gabby said and walked off.  
I went into the Pokemart and purchased a Potion, then left.

When I tried to leave Sandgem, Gabby stopped me.  
"Wait Rafe, don't go that way just yet."  
"Why?"  
"Mom should be home now. Go and see her before you continue onward."  
"Alright," I said, not even bothered that she was practically ordering me around.  
It would be nice to see mom one last time.

On the way back I heard running footsteps.  
* Why is someone running toward me? *  
The parasite showed me an image of a man in a shirt bearing the logo from the Sandgem Pokemart.  
"Here," he said, handing me something.  
A little exploring let me know it was a Potion.  
"Thanks," I said, slipping the item into the pack.

—- —- —-

Back at home mom healed my pokemon.  
"I'm going on my journey now mom," I said, giving her a hug.  
She hugged me back.  
"That's great dear, take this with you,"  
She put a flat book in my hand.  
"What's this?"  
"It's an electronic journal. It tracks your progress and will record significant events on your journey."  
"Thanks mom,"

"I had it made from the design you came up with is that ok?"  
"Absolutely,"  
Normally I never put my designs on paper, but that time I had. Making an 'electronic' journal was ingenious when it came to me.  
"Oh honey, you got a poke-etch! Let me give you my number."  
It took me a bit to get acquainted with the device, but I was eventually able to type in her number.

Some knocks interrupted me as I was about to say goodbye.  
"I'll get it!" I said as I made my way to the door.  
"Hello dear, have you seen my son?" someone asked as I opened the door.  
This was Casedy, Koji's mom. For some reason she liked to be called Kate though.  
"Not since Sandgem town," I told her.  
"Can you take a parcel to him for me? I forgot to give it to him when I left for work this morning." she asked.

* Sure, it'll give me an excuse to see him again. *  
"Yeah," I said, taking what she gave me.  
I put it into my pack and gave mom one last hug before leaving the house.

—- —- —-

In Sandgem once more, I thought for a moment. I'd walked here from Twinleaf.  
* There might be something to do on Route 209 ... might as well check before going on to Jubilife. *  
On the way to the route, something started shaking in my pack. It got so bad I pulled the bag off and opened it, finding the egg shaking.  
* Thought it would take longer for this thing to hatch? *

A few minutes later some cracking was heard. Ralts jumped down from my arm (where he usually clung) just in time. The egg hatched shortly after, a cry of "Tyrogue!" being heard. I knelt down, putting the new pokemon on the ground.

I reached out a hand, touching what apparently was the pokemon's head.  
* What type is this? *  
I shrugged, thinking back to what mom had said the night before. `I'll see what I can do about getting you a fighting type dear. I know you really want one.`  
* Maybe that's it ... *  
"How does Raiden sound for a name?" I asked the pokemon.  
It nuzzled my hand and I rubbed its shoulder affectionately. Lux climbed back onto my arm as I stood up to keep going.

Since I had no idea what moves it knew, I taught Raiden Secret power (tm 43) and Brick break (tm 31). Through training I found out he also knew Foresight and Mind reader. When he was lv 5 (an improvement from the lv 1 I'd gotten him at) I went back to Sandgem town. As we were leaving he ran off and returned with an Antidote.

Gabby came up to me and suggested I go to Route 202 when I made it back to Sandgem town. I healed at the 'center and then made my way over there. Hopefully there'd be some new pokemon to fight, Ralts needed to train some more.

—- —- —-

On Route 202 Gabby gave me a tutorial on how to catch pokemon. After the demonstration she handed me 5 poke balls and left. I caught a Starly (lv 4) a Shinx (lv 3) and a Kricketot (lv 3) on the route. Shinx (an electric type) I named Drake, Starly (a flying type) I called Ace, and Kricketot I didn't nickname. I'd caught her because the name sounded interesting, not because I actually wanted her.  
* I really need to take the pokedex apart and make it usable for me so I don't do this again ... *

Raiden brought me a Potion before I moved onto the part of the route with trainers. The parasite kindly gave me images of them, kids mostly who were looking around wildly.  
* That looks really suspicious. *  
I defeated all of them easily. I made sure to level everyone up before going on to Jubilife city. Ralts got to lv 12 Tyrogue was elevated to lv 10 and the other three I got to lv 5.

—- —- —-

In Jubilife, Gabby appeared again.  
"I have something to show you," she said, taking my hand in hers.  
She led me along a few streets, the parasite sending me images - keeping up pretty well for us moving. She stopped at the center of town, confusing me.  
* Why did we stop here? *  
The parasite gave me a picture of what looked like a town square, which was even more confusing.

* Gabby, you ok? *  
"There he is," Gabby said, catching my attention.  
"Who?"  
"You'll see,"

"Hello there! My name is Looker, did you need something?"  
I shrugged. "Not really ..."  
* Thanks for leaving me to deal with him ... *  
"Ok ... You're a trainer aren't you? Take this Battle recorder. With it you can record and 'keep' any battle you want."  
He gave me the item, then walked off.

I turned to Gabby.  
"What was that all about?"  
"He looked suspicious. I didn't want to come watch him by myself, so when I saw you I thought you could come with me."  
* And this is why I am glad you aren't traveling with me. You do the weirdest things ... *  
The guy had been wearing blue and black, which could have been odd-looking for this place I guess ... (the parasite showed me that while he was talking).

"I'll show you to the Pokemon center, then I havta get back to work," Gabby said.  
"Sounds good,"  
When we reached it she gave me a hug and left. Inside I asked for a room, going straight there when I got a key.

In the room I let all the pokemon out, (normally only having Lux and Raiden out) and took out some food for them. While they ate, I removed my tools for electronics, starting to take apart the poke-etch Koji had given me. I let my fingers roam over all the parts, getting acquainted with them so I could modify things.

After doing that I put it back together (some parts in different places) and turned the device on. I loaded some programs I'd created onto it. They included ones so it would read what was on the screen, ones for ring tones (for the phone part and other alert tones) and also one that would allow my programs to work with whatever was on the machine, including things that weren't there yet. The reason for so much was so I could use it without the help of a sighted person (or the parasite for that matter). Every time it took over, it drained some of my energy, so excessive 'take overs' weren't advisable.

With everything on there, it would read whatever showed up on the screen, I'd have a whole host of ring tones and alert tones, and my programs would work with anything and everything (software-wise) on the device, whether it was there now or put on later. Program design was something I'd studied in school, but I'd always been able to take devices (small ones, not actually computers) apart and 'fix' them, the machines working better after I'd worked with them than before.

The Pokedex was the next machine I worked with. I put the compatibility program and the speech program on it. (i'd taken the thing apart as well). When it was in one piece once more, I figured out I'd improved the scanning feature it had. From what I could tell, it was originally supposed to give data and a list of all possible moves (minus tm and hm moves) a pokemon could learn (and already knew). With whatever I'd done to it, it would now also scan any pokemon and give their name and type.

I tried this out on Tyrogue just in case, getting "Tyrogue lv 10" and "fighting-type."  
* It must not be a part of the Sinnoh Pokedex. *  
Though I'd improved scanning, if there was no data at all, the machine would only show the pokemon's very basic information.  
* Useful at least for training, since I'll know what type they are. *

I put my tools away, checking the time on my watch.  
"19:30." the device chirped.  
* Didn't think it was that late already ... *  
I buckled the poke-etch around my right wrist, put the Pokedex in my pocket, recalled everyone except Ralts and Tyrogue, and exited my room. I healed everyone and then made my way back into the city.

Gabby gave me a Quick claw when I got outside. She also hinted that the Trainers' school might be a good place to visit. I took her advice, walking over to the school and going in.

Ralts hopped down from my arm and went somewhere when I entered. He returned a few minutes later with an X attack. I was about to explore the place when Koji said:  
"Rafe! It's been hours! Where you been?"

I smiled a little.  
"Training like I should be. Your mom asked me to give you a parcel." I said, sliding off my pack and rummaging in it for said parcel.  
When I found it I held it out for him.  
"Thanks," he said, the sound of tearing paper announcing that he was opening it.

"So what she give you?" I asked.  
"There are two town maps in here! You need one?"  
I nodded. "Don't have one yet,"  
He gave me one, the parasite sending me the image of what was on it, as I unfolded it.

"I gotta go Rafe, see ya 'round!" Koji said as I was looking for something in my pack.  
I barely heard him, nodding, but not sure if it was in the right direction or not. I finally pulled out a sketch book and a pencil, drawing the map on a blank page. The parasite showed me a more detailed version of the city, which was what I drew. I made sure to make the lines nice and deep so I could use it quickly. Though my sense of touch was better than the average person's, the deeper the lines, the better. I memorized the city then put everything away.

I battled two trainers (beating both pretty easily with Shinx and Starly). The second one gave me a Potion after I beat her. Starly got to lv 8 and Shinx got to lv 7 from beating their pokemon. I'd given the Luck incense to Tyrogue, who fought as well. Due to the Luck Incenses' effect, I got double the amount of money from battling with trainers than I normally would.

I went to the Pokemart next, the parasite 'seeing' the list of possible purchases for me. I chose to buy 3 Heal balls and a Paralyze heal, which cost me 1100 poke dollars. After deliberating for a moment, I also bought 6 poke balls. I had some money with me when I left home already, so I didn't go broke after buying all that. Since there was nothing else for me to do in there, I left the shop.

—- —- —-

I double-checked the sketch of the map while my pokemon were being healed in the 'center. When they were healed, I picked up Lux and Raiden stayed out to walk around beside me. Outside I started walking toward an unmarked building, wanting to figure out what was in there.

A man approached me before I could get too far. The parasite gave me an image, an older looking man in a business suit.  
"Are you Rafiel Sarrakk?"  
I blinked. "Yeah why?"  
"I am the president of the Poke-etch Company. Casedy, an employee of mine, told me you should be given some poke-etch upgrades. She said you would know her as Kate."  
* Almost forgot about that ... Koji's mom works at the Poke-etch Company ... *

"You will need three coupons to get the upgrades. This was originally for a free poke-etch, but she tells me you have a poke-etch, just one with very basic features."  
The one Koji had given me (a blue one) only had the phone app so far. The man told me where I could find these coupons (3 clowns had them apparently) and instructed me to find him afterward.

I did so, Tyrogue finding a Potion along the way. The clowns were in three separate locations, so I was glad I'd been told where to find them. Once I had all three coupons, the man came and found me.  
* Was he following me around? That is very creepy ... *  
"Here you go!" he said, giving me a computer chip.  
"What's this for?"  
"The upgrades are on there. Just put it into the slot on your poke-etch and they will download."

I did so, hearing several beeps I'd set up to alert me when downloading was going on. The man must have walked off somewhere, 'cause he didn't speak to me again.  
* I'll check out the apps later. All I really need at the moment is the phone. *

I remembered there was a route nearby (possibly with some water) and started toward it. Gabby showed up again as I got close to it.  
"Rafe! Glad I caught you. I forgot to give you my poke-etch number earlier."  
She listed off the numbers and I entered them into the poke-etch.  
"I'll probably see you again tomorrow Rafe," she said, walking off.

—- —- —-

At the route (Route 218) I heard running water and gravitated toward it. Hopefully I could use the newest item I'd received (an Old rod I got from a man in the gate house on the way here). According to the parasite, he'd been a young man wearing a green uniform who was behind the counter in the gate house. I pulled out the rod now, using it to fish when I reached the water. I managed to catch a Magikarp at lv 5 with it. Though it seemed weak and stupid, it actually evolved into Gyarados (a decent water-type) which I found out by scanning it with the Pokedex before capturing it. Raiden found me an X accuracy then I went back to Jubilife.

—- —- —-

I consulted the map sketch again, deciding to go through the northern exit this time. When I entered the route, the parasite captured an image of a sign that said 'route 204 - south.' I only caught a Budew on this route. I ran into lots of other pokemon, but after scanning them had no interest in adding them to my team. Some (like Starly and Kricketot) I already had.

I took the time to level up the team while I was here. Some of them (Starly, Shinx, and Kricketot) could evolve at relatively low levels, so I focused on them first. At lv 14 Ace evolved into Staravia. Upon reaching lv 15 Drake evolved into Luxio. When she reached lv 10 Kricketot evolved into Kricketune.

I worked on Lux and Raiden next. Once they were lv 14 I stopped training them. I didn't touch Magikarp. I'd been unlucky enough to get one that only knew the move Splash, which was completely useless. Until I felt like trying to train something like that, I'd put it in the pc.

I went back to Jubilife after getting Lux to lv 14. I switched Magikarp with Budew, then ran to Route 204. When I got there I started training the grass-type. Once she was lv 12 I checked the time (it was 22:30) and ran to Jubilife city.

—- —- —-

I healed everyone at the 'center in Jubilife, then made my way to my room. I put my pack down on the floor, running both hands through my braided hair.  
"You guys can sleep where ever you want, but I'll probably leave sometime during the night." I said, addressing the two pokemon I'd kept out for most of the time while they'd been with me: Ralts and Tyrogue.  
I lay down and closed my eyes, feeling Lux and Raiden cuddle up against me.


	3. chapter 2

Warning: There will be some gore in this chapter. I thought you guys should know.

Key:  
* ... * thinking  
— * * * * — battle

* * * Chapter II * * *  
\- Rock Versus Team Rafe -

 

Rafe, (parasite) October 2 - 23:00 (Jubilife Pokemon center - Rafe's room) —-

 

I pushed the two small pokemon away and removed the goggles from my face, resenting the fact I had to wear them at all. Why did my host have to be so picky about who knew? Actually, the only ones who knew about us were the scientists who'd put me inside him. I growled in the back of my throat, then left the room he'd gotten us to stay in.

—- —- —-

In a dark alley I spotted my prey: a fat man. He was alone, which probably meant he wouldn't be missed. I didn't care how I got fed, but making sure that my host wasn't run out of town for being a 'murderer' was in my best interests. I smirked, letting a seductive demeanor slide into my step. Going through the motions of at least being 'interested' in him, would make him easier to kill. Humans were always so gullible, and distraction (especially in the form of possible sex) was one of the best ways to get them to do what you wanted.

I sidled up to the man, fluttering my eyelashes a little.  
"Why you out here all alone tonight?" I asked, my voice much different than my host's.  
It was deeper, gravelly, and sounded a few years older than his sixteen years.  
"Had nothin' better to do," the man said dejectedly.  
I frowned. "Want some company?"

I made sure that my intentions were very obvious, my eyes traveling down his body hungrily. It was dark in the alley, but there should be enough light for a regular human to see by.  
"You a rent boy?" the man asked.  
I chuckled. "Does it matter? I am horny and bored, why not take advantage of that?"  
I made sure to make myself sound exactly like I'd said, adding a dash of desperation in as well.  
"You wanna get fucked then?"  
I nodded, feeling sick to my stomach. I didn't mind being with men (I'd done it a few times before killing) but this man disgusted me.  
"Yeah,"

A few minutes later I had his pants around his ankles, and was rubbing roughly at his dick.  
"Yeah, just like that ..."  
* I'll show you what it should be like piggy ... *  
I smirked, letting him see my eyes, which had been closed for most of the time I'd been around him. They were a piercing focused yellow, the color both pale and hard-looking at the same time.  
"Whoa ... is it weird I find that hot?" the little pig asked.  
I shrugged. "Think what you want."

I gazed at him for a moment longer, then removed my hand from his dick. Thankfully I'd made sure to keep away from the head so I could avoid any unwanted fluids. I leaned closer, pretending to be setting up a kiss. Both my hands went to his shoulders, lightly rubbing.

The next instant, both my hands were around his neck, squeezing. I made sure to use enough pressure so he wouldn't be able to scream. I smirked, maniacally laughing inside the head I shared with the boy, and snapped his neck. The man's eyes bulged and then became flat and dull - just staring.  
* That was a lot easier than I thought. *

I let the lifeless body fall to the ground, pulling a knife from my pocket. I'd stolen it from a passing security guard a while back. I slashed at the man's stomach, using enough force to cut through the fabric of his filthy shirt and also through to the skin and organs underneath. It wasn't hard, I was much stronger than the average human, something I'd use to protect my host in extreme emergencies.

I sliced the shirt off completely and shoved it out of the way, my eyes spying blood and an open wound. I licked my lips, tearing the remnants of the shirt away to get at the flesh I craved. I cut into the skin, opening up the stomach. I pulled out a red vaguely shaped piece, not sure what organ it was, but not caring. I pushed the whole thing into my mouth, savoring the taste.

Since I'd opted to sleep (not taking over the hosts' body) the night before, I was weaker than usual. Normally I'd have been able to use my claws and fangs to tear open the man (and his clothing) but since I hadn't fed the night before my body was currently too weak to support the use of them. I ate as much as I could, knowing this might be the last time for a while. The host was getting closer to that orange-haired boy, which could complicate things for me.

I approved, that wasn't the problem. What was an issue though was the hosts' reasons for not telling people. How was I supposed to hunt when I couldn't reveal I existed?  
* Anyone who's known him for a while should have at least figured out there's something strange about him. Why not just tell them?! *

—- —- —-

I grinned wickedly as I bit into a Bidoof's neck hard enough to crack bones, dislocating the thing's shoulder and then snapping its neck. I didn't particularly like eating pokemon (I was created from several pokemon DNA strands myself) but the fat man hadn't been enough. If this was going to be my last meal for a while, I needed more than human blubber, no matter how good it might taste. I stuffed the whole Bidoof into my mouth after killing it, not caring about the fur or bones.

My body (or at least the changed version of the hosts' body with me included) was designed to digest almost anything. The human side would refuse to eat like I needed, so I had to go on nightly excursions like this in order to stay fed and strong. Though he controlled our shared body most of the time, I would protect him. He hadn't done anything in particular to earn my loyalty, but if I wanted to live, I needed to make sure he did as well. We were tied together so completely that separating us would instantly kill us both.

I made my way back to the Pokemon center, sticking to the shadows. Thankfully the boy had chosen to wear dark clothing, which only aided my efforts. I slipped in and out of the lobby easily, not even disturbing the sleeping nurse and her pink assistant pokemon. I gently (and quietly) pushed the door to the room open and sat down on the bed.

I removed the shoes the boy was wearing, putting them underneath the bed near the edge where he could find them again. I didn't feel like cleaning up. Having all this blood on my (our) skin and clothing made me feel so alive. I lay down, feeling the pokemon snuggle against me, and shut my eyes. I knew the boy would remember this, even though it would feel like a dream to him. He would handle it somehow. However he managed ... that wasn't my business.

 

Rafe, Tuesday October 3 - 9:00 (Pokemon center - Rafe's room) —-

 

I woke shivering, the images of what 'it' had done last night still fresh in my mind. Blood lust, pleasure, violence and predatory instinct were all the 'thing' seemed to me sometimes. Whenever I woke the next morning after it had fed, I felt dizzy and sick at the images and feelings. You'd think I'd be used to it by now (this had been going on since shortly after I'd come to live with mom and Gabby) but I wasn't.

I closed my eyes. Though it wouldn't banish the images and feelings, it made me feel a little better. I put a hand over my mouth to hold back the vomit I knew was coming, practically running to the bathroom. I made it just in time, picking up the toilet lid and shoving my hair into the back of my shirt before the puke shot from my mouth into the toilet bowl.

After I had puked up what felt like all my guts I wiped my mouth and stood up. I was dizzy still, but it was much better than it had been. I took a moment to run my hands over my clothes, arms, and face, instantly wishing I hadn't. Most of my clothes (and a good portion of my arms and face) were covered in blood.  
* Why couldn't you have at least undressed before passing out last night you fuckin' parasite ... *  
I would have spent a little time trying to come up with a suitable insult, but I was too exhausted and disgusted to do so.

I slowly peeled off the soiled clothing (wincing every time it pulled against my skin where it was sticking to it) and stepped into the shower. I cleaned myself (thoroughly scrubbing my arms and face to get rid of the blood) then grabbed the bloody clothes. I did the best I could to rinse out the blood, but it would take hours for them to dry. Thankfully I'd packed a few extra sets of clothing for this very scenario. I hung the wet (but mostly clean) clothes over the shower rod and went in search of the shoes I'd been wearing. I snagged a towel from the wrack on the way back to the bedroom, wrapping it around my waist.

I found the shoes under the bed (how thoughtful - not) and rinsed them as well. My extra outfit consisted of a red t-shirt with a black vest over it, dark blue jeans, and the winter boots I'd been wearing yesterday. I went over to the bed, locating Ralts and Tyrogue by their steady breathing (they were still asleep thankfully) and ran my hands over both of them, checking for blood. Miraculously there was none, and I woke them up afterward. After everyone ate something (even those that were in their balls previously) I left the room to start my day.

—- —- —-

On Route 204 (yes again) I walked around a little, Raiden finding a Paralyze heal for me. There were trainers to fight, so I dealt with them before going into the next area, which was a cave. If I remembered correctly this should be Ravaged path. In there Raiden found me a Potion. There was nothing else to do (the parasite gave me an image of a mostly empty cave) so I exited from it.

Back on Route 204 I worked with Budew, planning to evolve her today. After a little while she reached level 13 and evolved into Roselia. According to the Pokedex, she was a lot stronger now. Once that was done I went back to Jubilife.

—- —- —-

I healed the pokemon then went to the only route I hadn't explored near the city: Route 203.  
"Rafe! How you doin'?" a familiar voice asked.  
I smiled. "Hey Koji,"  
"Let's have a battle! I wanna see how strong you've gotten!"  
"Ok, but I won't go easy on you,"  
"Good,"

"Go! Starly!"  
"You're up Lux,"  
"Lux?"  
Instead of answering verbally I just put Ralts on the ground.  
"Oh! That's what you called him."  
I nodded.

— * * * * —

"Quick attack,"  
"Teleport,"  
"What?" Koji asked, no doubt wondering where Ralts had gone.  
"Just watch," I said, counting in my head so I'd know when to call out to the psychic type for him to re-appear.

"Now! Use Confusion,"  
A loud 'thud' was heard, the bird letting out a pained cry and hitting the ground.  
"That was quick," Koji said.

— * * * * —

"Return Starly. Go! Piplup!"  
I picked up Lux.  
"Go! Raiden!"  
"What pokemon is that? Never seen one before," Koji wanted to know.  
"He's a Tyrogue,"

— * * * * —

"Bubble!"  
"Secret power,"  
The parasite sent me an image of grass-like needles slamming into the penguin-pokemon.  
"Secret power again,"  
"Try and dodge. You can do this Piplup!"

The 'trying' was in vain. When the Secret power hit it knocked the bird out. A satisfying image of it with swirls in its eyes came from the parasite.  
* Did he even train at all? This is way easier than it should be. *

— * * * * —

"Well, that was bad. I'll do better with this last one! Go! Zubat!"  
* You actually caught one of those? *  
I'd come across a few last night and hadn't been impressed after scanning them. I'd had whoever was fighting them knock the flying-poison type out.  
I grabbed a ball from my belt.  
"Go! Drake,"  
"That's ... the evolved form of Shinx right?"  
"Yeah,"

— * * * * —

"Leech life!"  
"Dodge and use Charge,"  
I heard electricity being gathered (the noise sounding squeaky and almost too painful for my sensitive ears).  
"What does that do?" Koji asked.  
"You'll see,"

"Leech life once more!"  
"Spark,"  
Even more electricity was accumulated, reaching a high-pitch before I could hear running.  
* This attack is an electric-tackle, so hopefully it will knock out the bat. *  
Thankfully for me it did, the bat falling to the ground and not getting up. The parasite confirmed my suspicions, the Zubat was a little scorched, but would be fine later.

— * * * * —

"You've earned this," Koji said, putting some money into my hand.  
The parasite quickly counted it for me: 2700.  
I reached out and rubbed Koji's wrist.  
"Not your day for battling huh?"  
He sighed, one of his hands landing atop mine on his wrist.  
"Yeah guess not ..."

I brought my other hand to his face (doing so correctly only due to the image the parasite gave me) and gently stroked his cheek.  
"You'll do better next time I'm sure,"  
"Hope you're right. Gotta go!"  
And just like that, he was gone again.  
* He really needs to stop doing that ... *

A few minutes later running footsteps were coming toward me.  
"Rafe!"  
I blinked.  
* Thought you left ... *  
"Yeah?"

"I forgot to give you something! Here," Koji said as he put a computer chip into my hand.  
"That has the app I just finished, a digital version of the Town map mom gave me yesterday. It has more than just Jubilife, and will update every time you enter a city, giving a more detailed description,"

I put the chip into the slot on my poke-etch, hearing it beep as the download started.  
"You got any more you can give me? The way you made it sound, you have a lot of them."  
He took a breath.  
"Most of them aren't finished yet. You know how I am, I get distracted easily. I have the designs and some of the work done, but not finished enough to actually use."

"Let me know when you have some more done. I'll help 'fix' your poke-etch if you want,"  
"That would be nice. Mom just gave me a new one and it keeps restarting on me for some reason,"

When the beeps started I pulled out the chip and held it out for him to take back.  
"Why are you givin' it back?"  
"The app finished downloading. Don't you need this?"  
"Nah, you keep it,"  
I put the chip in my pack.  
"I'll see you later Rafe, gotta run,"  
* Always leaving ... aren't you? *

—- —- —-

I went back to heal and then returned to Route 203. There were a lot of pokemon here, but all I caught was an Abra, another psychic-type. I'd train it later. Ralts and Tyrogue found an X defend, a poke ball, and a Repel for me here as well. There were a few trainers to fight, then I entered what the poke-etch map app called Orburgh gate.

—- —- —-

The gate wasn't exactly a gate, not in the conventional sense anyway. Calling it a "cave" would have been accurate at least. On the first floor in there I found Zubat, Geodude, and Psyduck. I caught a Geodude and Psyduck. The Geodude looked like a nice solid rock-type (which I had none of at this point) and the Psyduck was a water-type. It could learn a water attack pretty quickly, so I decided to get one. I wasn't sure when I'd use it just yet, but it was a good idea to have one in case it was needed.

After capturing the two pokemon a man stopped me. He gave me hm 06 Rock smash, which he said wasn't able to be used out of battle without the Coal badge, the badge from the Orburgh gym. I beat up the pokemon of two trainers, then left through another cave entrance, taking me to Orburgh city.

—- —- —-

A random guy walked up to me as I entered the city. He said "you are a noob and need to know where the gym is" and proceeded to lead me to it. Koji was there when he dropped me off.  
"How's it goin' Rafe?" the orange-haired boy asked.  
I shrugged. "Not too bad,"

"The gym leader isn't here. He's at the Orburgh mine, so the gym's closed."  
"Have any idea why?"  
"Nope! I have some things to check up on, see ya later Rafe!"  
"Ok see ya ..."

I went to the Pokemon center and healed everyone after Koji left. After that I went into the Pokemart to pick up more items. I sold 1 X attack and 1 X defend, getting 525 poke dollars for them. I purchased 1 Net ball (a new ball that was good for catching bug and water types) and 4 poke balls. That was all for the shop, so I made it out of there.

A woman in the middle of town asked me if I knew anything about pokemon fossils. I told her yes, but wondered why she was asking. When I showed my knowledge of the legendary lore for some fossils (Aerodactyl, Kabuto, Omanite ect.) she got very excited. She told me that I could 'revive' any fossilized pokemon here in town, at a place called the Orburgh mining museum.

I explored the city next, acquiring 1 Super Potion, 1 Heart Scale, Pearl x 2 a Great Ball, and a Dusk Ball. There was a girl in a house near the Pokemon center who wanted to trade me an Abra for a Machop, something which I would do later. From my studies at the school in Sandgem town, I'd learned that trading with people could be a good thing. Sometimes you could get rare items or pokemon with attacks not always found easily. I also got a Pal pad in the upstairs room of the Pokemon center.

—- —- —-

There were two floors in the Orburgh mine. The app Koji gave me showed the exact layout. Raiden ran off when I set foot in the mine, but since he usually found items I wasn't worried. In the mean-time, I found and caught an Onix. It was another rock type, but unlike Geodude, it should be stronger. It also evolved into a steel-type, but I would need to get a Metal coat from somewhere first, then trade it with someone to evolve it.

Raiden gave me a poke ball when he came back. I thanked him and decided to do a little training before moving on. I got Lux to lv 16. Raiden also got to lv 16 before I moved on to the next floor.

I was challenged to a battle almost immediately after reaching the second floor. After taking down the trainer the parasite sent me an image of a man wearing khaki clothing who was staring at me.  
* Why can't people just look at me? Staring's weird and just a little creepy ... *  
I walked over to the man, who introduced himself as Roark, the gym leader. He spent a few minutes explaining how hm 06 worked outside of battle, then left to go back to his gym.

I battled another trainer and then Lux went off somewhere. He returned with two items, a Potion and an Escape rope. Since the gym was open now, I thought doing a little more training in here was a good idea. I made sure to get everyone to lv 16. Lux was kind enough to use Teleport, which let us off right in front of the Pokemon center in Orburgh. I healed at the 'center then went to the gym.

—- —- —-

In the gym, one of the trainers I fought gave me some useful information. He said "This is the rock-type gym."  
* Good thing I have a psychic, fighting, and grass type with me then ... *  
I faced off against two trainers in the gym. Ralts and Tyrogue each got to lv 17 from the trainer battles. The next thing to do was to fight Roark, but I went to heal first.

—- —- —-

"Leader Roark versus Rafiel of Twinleaf ... begin!" the referee said.  
"Go! Geodude!"  
"You're up Roselia!"  
"Don't think you'll win just because you have the type advantage,"  
"Let's find out ..."

— * * * * —

"Leech seed,"  
"Tackle,"  
The parasite showed me an image of the seed being planted on the rock-type.  
* That should help us out. *  
The Tackle must have missed, since I didn't hear the signaling thud of impact.

"Tackle again,"  
"Stay where you are. Mega drain when it's about to hit you,"  
The grass-type followed my orders to the t, the parasite kept me up to date with pictures of what was going on. The other trainer seemed to be flustered by the seemingly suicidal first command, but was annoyed (presumably with himself) when Roselia's attack hit.  
* That's a type-advantage for ya. *

"Mega drain again,"  
"Rock throw,"  
"Dodge,"  
"Tackle again,"  
* Really? * I thought sarcastically.

"Mega drain again,"  
"We're not falling for that again! Dodge and then hit it with Rock throw!"  
"Return,"  
"A normal-type move, that's your strategy?" Roark asked, his Geodude landing a solid hit on Roselia.  
I said nothing, but a smirk slowly spread onto my face.

"You're going to lose."  
"What do you know! Use Tackle again!"  
"Mega drain."  
The draining attack did its work, knocking out the rock-type.

— * * * * —

"How did you do that? I was going to win ..." Roark said in what I could only guess was disbelief.  
"You forgot about my first attack didn't you? Leech seed was what allowed me to win in the end,"  
"I never thought of that! Looks like you got me kid. Let's get the next round started."

"Send out your next pokemon leader," the referee said.  
"Go! Onix!"  
"Lux it's up to you," I said, putting the little psychic-type on the ground.  
"What is that?" Roark asked.  
"What, never seen a Ralts before? He's a psychic-type if you were wondering."  
"Rafiel's Ralts versus Roark's Onix ... begin!" the referee said.

— * * * * —

"Bind,"  
"Teleport,"  
* Psychic attacks are great against rock-types ... *  
I counted to ten before giving Lux the command.  
"Now! Use Confusion."  
The parasite gave me an image of the attack hitting the rock-snake squarely in the face. It fell over, but managed to get back up again.  
* Damn ... *

"Rock throw!"  
"You know what to do," I said to the Ralts, referring to a combo we'd worked on.  
It was made up of two attacks: Shadow sneak (the attack he'd first used on Koji's Piplup) and Confusion. The idea was for him to slink around in the shadows, land a hit with Shadow sneak, (which wouldn't do all that much to Onix) then hit the target with a Confusion while it was trying to figure out what happened.

"Stealth ..."  
"Too late," I said, hearing (and 'seeing' with the 'thing's' help) that the combo had started.  
Lux slammed into the snake (likely hurting himself in the process) and then shot a Confusion into its face.  
"Bind,"

"Teleport away,"  
The parasite showed me that he'd barely gotten away.  
* This rock-type is faster than the last one, better be careful. *  
"Now! Confusion one last time,"  
"Rock throw!"  
"Teleport, then give it another Confusion. Attack at your judgement,"

The two attacks were just enough to confuse the snake. The parasite kept sending me images of the snake about to attack, then having it's target suddenly not be there.  
* Great job, *  
Though I hadn't ordered it, Lux was using Confusion to mess with the rock-snake.  
"Finish it!" I ordered, hearing the sound Confusion made as it hit the rock-type. The Onix slammed into the ground hard, not getting back up.

— * * * * —

"Send out your last leader," the referee said.  
"That was impressive. Not many people can get past just how big Onix is and panic."  
I shrugged. "Guess I have an advantage then,"  
"Why's that?"  
I chuckled and tapped the goggles I was currently wearing.  
"Didn't think these were for show did ya? They block out all light, but I can't see with them off either."

"Hmmm, never fought a blind trainer before ..."  
"Don't use that as an excuse to go easy on me,"  
"I won't. Cranidos! You finish this for us!"  
I picked up Ralts, smiling down at where I could hear Tyrogue breathing lightly.  
"Go! Raiden!"

"Again a pokemon I've never seen before ..."  
"Tyrogue, fighting-type. And before you ask, he's not part of the Sinnoh Pokedex,"  
"You from another region kid?"  
"Not that I know of ..."  
* Might be though ... *  
"Roark's Cranidos versus Rafiel's Tyrogue ... begin!" the referee said.

— * * * * —

"Headbutt!"  
"Dodge and use Brick break,"  
The attack hit, but didn't do as much damage as I'd like. The parasite let me know the weird-looking creature was still going strong.  
* Great ... *  
"Secret power,"  
* Know it won't do all that much, but might as well try. Plus, this might taunt him into using another attack. *

"Headbutt again!"  
* Not that again ... *  
"Brick break followed by another Secret power,"  
The two attacks hit, this time doing more damage. My guess was that since they hit so close together, the rock-pokemon couldn't dodge.  
* Hope I can keep this up ... *

Ten minutes later Raiden was breathing hard.  
"You ok to keep going?" I asked.  
"Ty Tyrogue!" he said, which I took to mean 'yes.'  
"Brick break one more time,"  
"Dodge that," Roark said.  
* Shit ... *

"Tackle, then Brick break,"  
"You're really going to use Tackle on a rock-type?"  
"Yes," I said a little irritably.  
Both attacks hit, the Tackle boosting the power of the Brick break since it required so much momentum. And that is what finally took the Cranidos down.

— * * * * —

"I don't think I've ever seen a trainer with a strategy like yours," Roark said as I hugged Raiden close.  
He'd taken a lot of damage in the fight.  
"What do you mean?"  
"Your attacks ... a lot of them seemed reckless to me." Roark said.  
I sighed. "You teach your pokemon to take a hit and people think you're suicidal ..."

He laughed. "Is that what that was? I'm not sure whether to compliment you on that or call you crazy."  
I shrugged. "I've been called crazy before, never stopped me,"  
"Fair enough,"

He walked toward me.  
"You've earned these. The tm is 76 Stealth Rock, which you so kindly stopped me from using earlier. It hurts pokemon when your opponent switches pokemon."  
Two items (both relatively small) were put into my hand.  
"The other is the Coal badge, the proof you won here,"  
I smiled. "Thanks,"  
"Don't mention it. Like I said, you earned those,"  
I put the badge and tm away, then navigated out of the gym.

—- —- —-

I'd gotten 3360 poke dollars from beating Roark, which I'd definitely use. As I was leaving the gym, mom called me. She asked how I was doing (which I responded with "fine.") She said she was actually pretty busy at the moment, but wanted me to have Prof. Rowan's number. She said she'd planned to give it to me earlier, but forgotten to. After I typed the number in she hung up.

I healed up at the 'center and made my way to Route 207 South. There were four species of pokemon there, but only two of them interested me. One was Machop (a fighting type) and the other was Ponyta (a fire type). My favorite types were fighting and psychic, but I thought getting a fire type would be a good idea, since I didn't have one yet. Raiden grabbed me a poke ball as well.

After getting both pokemon I went back to the 'center to heal. The Machop was female, and I called her Lauren. It just fit somehow. Ponyta was male and I called him Casey. And again, that name just fit too. After everyone was healed, I went back to Route 207.

Thanks to Roark, Tyrogue and Ralts were now both lv 18. I checked the Pokedex to see when Lux would evolve, delighted to know it was lv 20. I leveled him up, smiling as the parasite sent me an image of his new form: Kirlia. Raiden also was leveled to 20. He started evolving to my surprise ... and there was more. He evolved into Hitmonlee!  
* I'll havta thank mom later ... This is so awesome! *

I worked with the other members of the team once the psychic and fighting type had evolved. There were no other evolutions, but everyone was becoming really strong. I did want to train with the two new additions though, so I walked back to the 'center and grabbed them from the pc. Kricketune was switched with Machop, and Roselia was switched with Ponyta.

—- —- —-

I remembered there were rocks that looked like they could be smashed in the "cave" gate, so I started over there. Koji found me before I could go in.  
"You win at the gym Rafe?" he asked.  
"Yep,"  
"Nice! I'll be taking Roark on next."  
"You get any more pokemon Koji? You'll probably need them, he uses rock-types."  
"i'll keep that in mind! Yes I got more! What did you think I was doing?!"

I chuckled. "With you Koji it's hard to tell sometimes. There are times when ... you're really in a hurry and then there are times when you're very serious,"  
"Uhhh is that a compliment?"  
"Not really, just how I 'see' you."

"Uhm thanks, Rafe, I think ... I wanted to tell you something!"  
"What? You don' havta yell ya know,"  
"Sorry, just so excited. I'm staying at the Pokemon center here in Orburgh tonight, wanna hang out after I beat the gym?"  
I gave him a genuine smile, one which I was told lit up my whole face.  
"Sure Koji. Just give me a call when you're done,"  
"I'll do that. See you later Rafe!"  
And with that, the boy ran off again.


	4. chapter 3

* * * Chapter III * * *  
\- Team Galactic, More Team Galactic, and a Chansey-Friend -

 

Rafe, Tuesday October 3 - 20:00 (Orburgh gate) —-

 

Inside the "cave" (I refused to call it a gate at this point) the map app showed me that I'd completely missed the second floor when I'd come through earlier.  
* There is a rock in the way, so maybe that's why ... *  
I taught Rock smash to Hitmonlee and had him crush the rock blocking the stairs to the second floor. An item fell onto the ground when it broke, the parasite letting me know it was a Revive as I picked it up.

On the second floor, Raiden smashed another rock - a Nugget coming out of this one. Lux went off somewhere, bringing me tm 70 Flash when he returned. Raiden smashed two more rocks (getting me a poke ball and a Great ball). Lux ran off and appeared next to me seconds later with a Big pearl. Kirlia used Teleport after the parasite'd made sure there was nothing else I could do in the "cave."

—- —- —-

My poke-etch rang as we materialized in front of the 'center.  
"Yeah?" I asked, pressing the 'talk' button.  
"Hi Rafe! I beat the gym!" Koji enthused.  
I smiled. "That's great,"  
"Yep! Where did you wanna meet up at?"  
"The Pokemon center's fine Koji."  
"Sounds great, meet you there in a bit."

I went inside and sat down on a bench to wait. I didn't have to wait long. Koji put a hand on my arm (the parasite telling me it was him).  
"Ready?" he asked.  
I nodded.

In his room, I sat on the bed.  
"I was wondering if you could work on my poke-etch, Rafe?"  
"Sure,"

I pulled out my 'kit and started taking the thing apart when he gave it to me. Lux and Raiden were left out, they wouldn't do any damage.  
"I'll work on some apps while you do that. Think it's a good idea to let a few of my pokemon out too?"  
I shrugged. "Go ahead,"

"Come on out Roselia, Piplup,"  
The soft cries of his pokemon were background noise as I went to work. After taking the machine apart, I cleaned the individual pieces carefully, then put it back together. I ran a hand through my hair, trying to figure out what might 'cause the issue Koji had mentioned with restarting.

* Might be a calibration problem. It's too bad I don't know how they put the software together. I can 'fix' things, take them apart, and make my own programs, but have no idea what software went into that thing originally. *  
Most of the time I could crack the original software coding and figure out what was wrong with devices that way, but I'd never been able to do it with a poke-etch.

I took a chip from my pack and inserted it, planning to load a recalibration program onto Koji's machine. I had put my programs on it for speech, (so I could work on it myself) but I could remove them later. The program downloaded and I set the poke-etch aside so it could do its work. Lux jumped into my lap and I chuckled, running both hands through his hair. I rubbed one of his horns, eliciting a hum from the psychic-type.

A while later the poke-etch chimed, letting me know the calibration process was done. The device restarted after, something which it was programmed to do. When it was back on, I checked to make sure it was working right then tapped Koji on the shoulder.

He didn't respond right away. While i waited, the parasite sent me an image of him, and I was fascinated by that. A tap on my own shoulder brought me back to reality.  
"Yeah?"  
"You finished already?"  
"Yep,"

I held the poke-etch out to him.  
"I recalibrated it. If there are any more issues you might wanna have your mom or an employee from the 'company look at it. I don't know everything about these things. It should also work faster now too."  
He took it from me.  
"Thanks,"

"You finish any of the apps you were working on?" I asked.  
"Yeah. I got a Radio app, a 'scan area' app, and an egg app. The Radio app will scan radio waves and find one or two songs being played somewhere in a city and play them for you. The 'scan area' app will scan an area for pokemon, and tell you what ones you can find there. The egg app will scan eggs and tell you how many steps you have left to walk in order for them to hatch."

I smiled. "Nice,"  
Koji handed me a chip.  
"Here, can you download those for me and make sure they work?"  
"I'd love to," I said, putting said chip into my poke-etch.

"Are your programs still on here?" Koji asked while the new apps were downloading.  
"Yeah. You want me to take them off?"  
"Can they be shut off?" he asked, rubbing my arm just above the watch I normally wore (on the left).  
"Yeah."

He gave me the poke-etch back.  
"Can you turn them off for me then? The last time I tried messing with your programs I fucked up a poke-etch remember,"  
I did, vividly. It was so bad I'd had to put a new battery and display on the thing.  
"Alright," I said, tapping the screen in several places a few times to do so.  
"They're off," I said, hearing the final beep that signaled the download on my poke-etch was complete.  
I gave him back his and strapped mine back on my wrist.

For a moment I just sat there, not sure what to do. I was tempted to ask if I could sleep in his room, but that would be assuming he liked me enough, which I wasn't sure about. He had told me he was gay, but that didn't mean he liked me more than a friend. I sighed, wrapping my arms around him in a hug.  
"See ya sometime tomorrow Koji,"  
"Good night Rafe,"

 

Rafe, Wednesday October 4 - 9:30 (Pokemon center - Rafe's room) —-

 

I rubbed my eyes, waking with a start. I thought I'd heard something, but it just turned out to be Raiden snoring. I felt much better today.  
* The parasite must've stayed in last night ... *

I fed everyone, glad to have gotten a good night's sleep for once. The clothes I'd had to clean of blood yesterday were dry, so I put those on instead of the 'extra set' I'd worn before. I decided to keep the winter boots on, having heard the day before that it was supposed to be colder today than it had been yet this fall.  
* Hope it's not so cold I need the winter gloves, I hate wearing those things. *  
They were bulky and my sense of touch was impaired when I wore them.

—- —- —-

On Route 207 I caught another Machop. I went back to the 'center and switched that one with the one I'd caught yesterday, planning to trade with the girl in town for an Abra. The girl was delighted when I showed her the Machop, the trade being made. The Abra I received was male, was named Psy, and knew the move Ice punch. I brought Psy back to the 'center and switched him with Lauren (my Machop).

The next thing I did was go to Route 203. I'd visited this place before, so there were no new pokemon to get. I did level up Machop and Ponyta a little though. I got them both each to lv 10 and then kept going, reaching Jubilife city a little while later.

—- —- —-

In Jubilife Looker found me again. According to the parasite, he was dressed the same as the other day.  
"How are you doing?" he asked.  
I felt Lux lean against me as I thought.  
* What should I tell him? Why is he askin' anyway? He doesn't really know me at all ... *

I decided to go with the truth.  
"Fine,"  
If he wanted to know more, he could ask. That didn't mean I'd answer though. Gabby's words from the other day came back to me as he walked off. '"He looked suspicious...`  
* Suspicious or not, he is definitely following me. *

I healed at the 'center in Jubilife. A woman stopped me when I left the 'center, telling me that I should visit the Poke-etch Company building. (She noticed I had a poke-etch and suggested it). She told me to check in at the building every once in a while for new apps and upgrades. I thanked her and made my way over there.

At the 'company building, the parasite gave me an image of a large lobby with a reception area. The president was behind the desk. At the counter he gave me something he called the Memo pad app, which he encouraged me to try out. I decided to do so later and left.

I tried to go north of Jubilife after that, but I was blocked. Prof. Rowan, Gabby, and some guys in weirdly colored uniforms and hair were all standing in the road. The parasite gave me the images one by one. The professor looked outraged, Gabby was annoyed, and the uniformed guys were smug. The uniforms were turquoise and so was their hair. A letter g was stitched in white on the shirts they wore.  
* Who are those guys? *

—- —- —-

"We are Team galactic! You won't mess with our plans,"  
"You kids should just go home,"  
The guys in turquoise said.  
There were two of them.  
* If these are really Team galactic, why are they so open about who they are? The last I heard, they were a 'secret' organization no-one knew much about. *  
I'd heard about them on tv a few times.

"You're kiddin' right? Team galactic wouldn't come to a place like this," Gabby said.  
I placed a hand on her shoulder, which she shook off with a soft growl.  
"That's who we are little girl, if it bothers you leave!"  
"Why would you come here! There's nothing important in Jubilife for you to steal!"

Gabby was under the impression they were Sinnoh's equivalent of Team rocket. We'd read about the Rockets in school and how they'd nearly destroyed Johto. I had no idea if she was right or not, but this wasn't going to end well if she kept shouting at them.  
"Why don't you leave?!" Gabby said.  
* You are such an idiot ... *

"Let's battle. We will win and finish our business here!" one grunt said.  
"Suuure you will," Gabby said sarcastically.  
I grabbed Gabby's arm hard enough to make her groan in pain.  
"Stop shooting your mouth off sis,"  
"Let me go! I am going to battle them!"  
I sighed, letting her go. I glared in her direction.  
"You aren't fighting them alone Gabrielle,"  
"Fine Rafiel, let's take them down,"

"Go! Monferno!" Gabby said.  
"Go! Glameow!" was the first Galactic's response to that.  
"Go! Glameow!" the other one said.  
I growled under my breath.  
"Get in there Lux!"

— * * * * —

"Mach punch!"  
"Scratch,"  
"Scratch!"  
"Teleport,"

I zeroed in on my own opponent, trusting Gabby to take care of her's. I counted to twenty, then smirked.  
"Now! Will-o-wisp,"  
The flame slammed hard into Glameow (a cat) which didn't move for some reason.  
"Scratch!"  
"Confusion,"

The parasite showed me an image of the cat fainting, which I was grateful for. It then let me know Gabby had finished off the first pokemon of her opponent too.  
* Let's finish this quick. I don't trust you around these guys Gabby. *

— * * * * —

"Return," one Galactic said.  
"You haven't beaten us yet!" the other exclaimed.  
* Will you guys just shut up ... * I thought, shaking my head.  
"Send out your next pokemon," Gabby taunted.  
"Why you little...!"  
"She's baiting us. We'll teach you! Go! Stunky!"  
"You too! Stunky!"

I quickly scanned one of them with the Pokedex, finding out they could use dark-type moves.  
* As much as I love using you, you'll take major damage against those Lux ... *  
"Lux you're sitting this one out,"  
"You're not giving up are you?" one of the Galactics taunted.  
I snickered.  
"You may wanna watch it, I could have something much stronger than those skunks,"  
"Like what?" both Galactics asked.

I smirked. "Like Raiden,"  
He'd run off somewhere earlier, but was back now. He gave me another Big pearl (which I pocketed to put in the pack later).  
"What is that?" a Galactic asked.  
"He's a Hitmonlee," I said.  
"I'm sticking with Monferno," Gabby said.

— * * * * —

"Flame wheel,"  
"Fake out,"  
"Fake out,"  
"Dodge,"

And again, I left Gabby to take care of her opponent.  
"Damnit! Toxic!"  
* If that hits I'm done ... *  
"Dodge and use Brick break,"

"What?" the Galactic asked.  
I chuckled. "You've lost,"  
"No I haven't! Faint attack again!"  
"Brick break,"

The fighting-type move sent the skunk flying and it fainted when it hit the ground.  
"Told you," I said smugly.  
The parasite gave me an image of the Galactic I'd been fighting (an angry-looking guy) and also one of the one Gabby'd been fighting in a similar state.  
* She may be an idiot sometimes, but she can sure battle. *

— * * * * —

"I can't believe we lost!" one Galactic said.  
"Shut-up, we have to go!" the other said.  
I shook my head in disbelief.  
"Why were they here again?" I asked.  
"I have no idea bro, but it's a good thing you got here when you did. I let my hatred for Team galactic get the better of me,"  
"At least you won," I said, putting a hand on her arm and smiling a little.

"Yeah that's true,"  
"So where you goin' now?" I asked her.  
"Back to the lab, there are some pokemon nesting right now,"  
"See ya later then, sis,"  
"See ya!" Gabby said as she left.

The parasite let me know I'd gotten 4000 for winning against the Galactics. Both Gabby and the professor were gone after the battle, something the parasite let me know as well. As I was starting toward the 'center to heal Lux and Raiden something flew onto my shoulder. I growled and grabbed for it, finding out it was a Starly after the parasite sent me an image.  
* Why the fuck would a Starly land on me? *

The parasite let me know it had something tied to its leg. I untied whatever it was and the parasite took over. It unrolled a piece of paper (fancy-looking paper) and started to read what was on it.  
'You are formally invited to the Jubilife television station. Please stop by and see us.'

There was no signature. The parasite gave me back control, making me instantly dizzy. Lux and Raiden both helped me stay upright by leaning against my sides. I grimaced, putting a hand on each of them, then the dizziness faded.

I smiled a little.  
"Let's pay a visit to this tv station,"  
The two moved away from me a little (something the parasite showed me) and I started walking toward the 'center again. I healed there then pulled up the map app. After checking where it was, I went to the tv station.

—- —- —-

The Starly who'd brought the letter had insisted on following me, and flew onto my shoulder again when I entered the building. It then pecked my face and dropped something into my hands. I was annoyed by that, but the bird flew away before I could do anything about it. The bird had dropped a Fashion case into my hands, an item I'd asked mom about before. It was used to hold contest accessories. I stashed it in my pack and brought up the map again.

There were no 'points of interest' but I decided to explore the building anyway. A guy with brown hair (the parasite's image showed me) gave me a Turtwig mask. Turtwig was the grass-type starter from Sinnoh, the pokemon I could have gotten from the Professor if it hadn't attacked me. There really wasn't much to do in this place, but a man helped me unlock something for my poke-etch. It was called 'mystery gift' which could let me get items and pokemon sometimes when certain events were going on. After doing that I exited the building.

—- —- —-

I'd checked the map and ascertained that I needed to return to Route 204 in order to get to the next town. Instead of hanging around the mostly useless (to me now) route, I went into the cave (Ravaged path). In the cave Raiden broke a rock, then Kirlia walked in front of me. I was about to tell him to move when he handed me something. The parasite gave me an image of a tm, tm 39 to be exact. This was the move Rock tomb.

There were more rocks to break. From one I got a Rare candy. From another I received a Star piece. From the the last one Lux brought me a Super potion.  
* I'll havta sell some stuff in the next town ... *

Once all the rocks were out of the way I exited the cave, which would take me to the next area.

It turned out the next area was Route 204 North. I used the 'scan area' app Koji gave me. There were no new pokemon to catch. I leveled Machop and Ponyta to lv 20. Hitmonlee ran off and came back with tm 09 Bullet seed and an Awakening. After that I went into Floaroma town.

—- —- —-

In town I healed at the 'center. Once that was done I walked into the Pokemart. I sold 1 Nugget, 2 Big pearl, 2 Pearl, 1 Rare candy, and 1 Star piece. The clerk gave me 216000 poke dollars for all of that. I bought 2 Super potions and 8 poke balls before leaving the shop.

There was a flower shop in town, so I went there next. Mom had said this was a good place to get berries. I found an Oran berry and a Cheri berry outside. Inside a girl gave me an item called a Sprayduck. She said it could be used to water plants, I would just have to refill it with water when it got empty. Another girl gave me a Rawst berry and then I left the shop.

I walked around the city, the parasite showing me images of places. There was a contest hall, but it was currently closed. This was where mom'd gone the night before Koji and I were supposed to leave on our Journeys. Once a year there was a special contest held here in Floaroma town, so I hadn't wanted mom to miss it.

After a while I came to a house and entered it. A friend of mom's was supposed to live here. I was greeted by a plump woman with a smile as I came in. Her daughter (a girl half my age) smiled and blushed when I said 'hi' to her. She gave me tm 88 Pluck. I stayed to chat with the two for a while, then went on.

Route 205 was the next place I went. As I was walking along, a girl came up to me.  
"I need help!" she said.  
"What happened?" I asked.

"It's my dad, he's been gone for a long time."  
"Where is he?"

"He works at the Valley windworks. You havta help him!"  
I pasted a smile on my face.  
"I will, don't worry. Is there any reason he wouldn't come back from work?"  
"He's the manager ... I saw some guys in blue going over there earlier ... maybe they kidnapped him!"

I reached out and ruffled her hair (the parasite telling me her exact location).  
"I'll go find out what happened to him."  
"Ok thanks! Come back soon!"

—- —- —-

Outside the Windworks, I scanned to see if there were any pokemon to capture. There were: Pachirisu (an electric type) Buizel (a water type) and Shellos (a water and ground type). I grabbed all three, then the parasite gave me an image of the Windworks itself. It was a tall building and there was a Team galactic member in front of the door.

I walked up to the Galactic and challenged him to a battle. He only had one pokemon (a rather weak Glameow) so it wasn't too difficult. I'd given the Luck incense to Ponyta, who fought in the battle. Lux had teleported somewhere before the battle started, and came back with a Potion when it was over.

The Galactic (who I thought was probably a grunt) locked himself in the building after I beat him.

* So now you guys are not only weak, but also cowards. Gabby'd just love to hear about this. *  
Since I had no way of getting into the Windworks I went back to Floaroma town.

Back in Floaroma I healed my pokemon. A boy came up to me and panted when he stopped.  
"Did you want something?" I asked him.  
"There's some bad guys in the Meadow! Please help!"  
I sighed inwardly, but decided it wouldn't hurt to find out what he was talking about.  
* The 'bad guys' could be from Team galactic ... *

I followed the boy to the meadow.  
"They have my dad!" he said as we ran there.  
I nodded. "I'll get him back for you,"  
* What is it with dads and being kidnapped today? *

When we got there the parasite sent me an image of two Galactics holding a man hostage. He had some bottles in his hands, which I guessed were what they were after.  
"Daddy!" the boy cried, starting to run toward the men.  
I grabbed him by the back of the shirt and told him to stay put, making my way over to the trio.

I challenged the Galactics to a battle. They each fought me separately. After I defeated the second one they ran off. One of them dropped something on the ground, which I picked up. The parasite sent an image of a key to me.  
* I hope this is the key to the Windworks. *

The little boy ran up and hugged his dad (the parasite showed me) as I stepped closer to the man I'd just rescued.  
"Thank you for taking care of them. Here, take these Honeys for your trouble."  
He gave me ten bottles of the stuff, which I put in my pack.  
"I make the stuff, so if you need any more, you can come and see me again. I'll sell them to you for 100 poke dollars."  
I thanked the man and went on my way.

In Floaroma I healed again. I left the 'center and started off toward Route 205 again. The girl saw me and asked about her dad while I was trekking through the route. I informed her that I was 'working on it.'

—- —- —-

I unlocked the door to the Windworks and stepped inside. The grunt from before (I would call all of them that from now on unless they proved otherwise) yelled in surprise and ran off when he noticed me. He muttered something about telling his boss, which I barely caught. There were two more grunts to fight here, so I took them on. The fights weren't too hard, and soon I was past them.

I moved in the Windworks, checking all the rooms for people and items. There weren't any items here, and there were very few people. Other than the three grunts I'd come across, there was only one other person. The parasite showed me an image of an important-looking woman in the last room I came to. Her uniform was still turquoise, but it was fancier and had a short white cape attached to the shoulders.

I stepped into the room, but the woman paid no attention to me. After thinking for a while I made a rude gesture in her direction. She still didn't acknowledge me. Finally I ran into her, which definitely got her attention.

She smirked, which I found out due to the parasite.  
"I'm one of Team galactic's three commanders. ... no, wait that's one of four commanders. My name is Mars! We've been trying to create a new world that's better than this one ... but people have shown little understanding about what we do. You don't understand either, do you? It's a little saddening ... so, let's have a battle to decide what we should do next. If I win, you leave. If you win, we, Team Galactic, will leave!"

I shrugged.  
"Sounds good to me."  
"Go! Zubat!"  
"Go! Casey!"  
"What is that, a horse?"  
"He's a Ponyta," I said.

— * * * * —

"Giga drain!"  
"Flame wheel,"  
"Fly away!"  
"Too late," I said, knowing Casey had only gotten faster as I'd trained him. He was already very fast to begin with, so the bat was definitely going down.

The parasite kept up with the battle, sending me images every few seconds. The Flame wheel hit the bat, which made it fall to the ground.  
"Stomp before it can fly away again,"  
Luckily for me, it looked pretty hurt. That bat wouldn't be flying again for a while. Stomp knocked out the Zubat.

— * * * * —

"I'm not beaten yet! Go! Purugly!"  
And yes, the thing was ugly. Or at least I thought it was when the parasite sent me an image of a very fat, fluffy cat. I scanned the 'cat' and chose to use Hitmonlee next.  
"Go! Raiden!"

"Do you kids always give your pokemon cute nicknames? What's this one?"  
"Hitmonlee," I said, glaring in her direction.

— * * * * —

"Scratch!"  
"Secret power,"  
The cat managed to land a hit before Raiden could attack it himself. I grit my teeth, hoping we could work on that.  
* The kitty's faster than it looks. *  
With how fat and fluffy it looked, I'd thought it would be extremely slow.

"Hahaha! You are not going to beat me."  
"We'll see," I said.  
I smirked a few seconds later, remembering Raiden had Brick break.  
"Don't be so sure you'll win,"  
"Why's that?"  
I refused to answer.

"He's bluffing. Scratch again!"  
"Brick break,"  
It took a few hits from the fighting-type move, but finally the kitty was down for the count.

"This can't be?! I lost?! You ... you uppity brat!"

— * * * * —

"Oops! I messed that one up! That's alright, though. I quite enjoyed our battle."  
* That was weird ... *

All the Galactics were gone when I found the little girl's dad. He thanked me for saving him (he was tied up and locked in a closet) and I exited the Windworks. The parasite counted the money I'd received from beating Mars, which totaled to 2720 poke dollars.

Outside Looker was there.  
"Good job with those Galactics. I'm proud of you." he said.  
* Why are you following me ... You are so fuckin' creepy! *  
While I was thinking about that, he must have left, since he was gone when I tuned back into reality.

—- —- —-

I healed in Floaroma again. Route 205 was where I went after that. The little girl from before hugged me tightly when I made it onto the route. She thanked me, then ran off.

On the route there were the same pokemon as there were outside the Windworks. I didn't catch any of them, but did train. Raiden ran off and came back with items periodically while I was training.

I got everyone to lv 25 (including Raiden when I was able to stop him from running around). I checked the Pokedex to see if anyone would evolve soon after everyone was lv 25. Lauren would evolve at lv 28 (which I didn't mind working on) and Ace would evolve at level 34 (which I didn't feel like dealing with at the moment). I could evolve Lux anytime with the Dawn stone mom'd given me, but decided against it for now.

Raiden brought me 1 X Sp. Def, 1 Oran Berry, 1 Pecha Berry, 1 Heal Ball and 1 Super Potion. After all that was done, I moved onto the part of the route with trainers.

I battled trainer after trainer, wondering when it would end. There seemed to be an endless supply of them here. Once I'd finished with them all (there were 8 in total) everyone was exhausted (including me). Thankfully there was a house (which the parasite kindly pointed out) where I was able to heal my pokemon.

I leveled Machop up before going on to the next area. At lv 28 she evolved. Machoke was much bigger and more powerful, but in order for Lauren to reach her final evolution I would need to trade her.  
* Maybe Koji will wanna trade later ... *

—- —- —-

Eterna forest was the next area. When I entered, a woman came up to me. She was wearing black and pink. A track suit with pants instead of shorts (or maybe a skirt since she was a girl) was the outfit she wore.  
"My name's Cheryl. Mind if I go through this forest with you? I will battle with you and can heal all our pokemon after each fight."  
I thought for a moment.  
"Sure,"

I used the 'scan area' app, discovering several species of pokemon lived here. Many of them were bugs. Since I had Kricketune in the pc, I chose to ignore them for now. What I did catch though was a Buneary (a normal type) and a Gastly). Buneary would evolve into a normal-fighting type.

Gastly was the first ghost-type I'd come across. Mom had always said it was handy to have a ghost around, they were hard to knock out and could get you items that most other pokemon couldn't since they could float through walls. Not all of them could, but most.

I was excited about Buneary as well since it could learn such a wide variety of attacks after evolving. Hitmonlee and Kirlia ran (and teleported in Lux's case) around the forest collecting items for me. They collected 1 Antidote, 1 Paralyze heal, 1 Net ball, 1 Potion, 1 Green shard, and 1 Yellow shard.

Cheryl and I battled 8 trainers. Well, technically, it was four battles. They were all double battles though. She had a Chansey that was lv 20 which helped out a lot. After every battle she healed our pokemon like she'd said. During every battle, (no matter if it was with a trainer or wild pokemon) her Chansey would attack. I was very glad I'd gotten Gastly and Buneary early, it woulda been really difficult to catch them with Chansey attacking everything like that. I'd used two of the Quick balls I had to catch them earlier.

We passed a strange-looking rock at some point, which Cheryl said was the Mossy rock. She explained that I could come back here with an Eevee in order to evolve it. She pulled out a picture of its evolution, a Leafeon, to show me. The parasite gave me the image. I thought it would be cool to get an Eevee, I'd learned about them a lot in school.

When we got to the other side of the forest, Cheryl left. She gave me her poke-etch number, though. I was a little sad to see her leave, but she promised we'd meet up again. It had been fun having another trainer to battle with.

—- —- —-

Route 205 North was where I ended up after leaving the forest. I scanned the route with the app, finding out there were the same pokemon here as in the forest. After looking through the list (and checking out some of them with my Pokedex) I decided I'd capture a Dustox and a Beautifly. They were both bug dual-types, which could be useful later. Also, they were pokemon mom'd recommended using in contests, which I wasn't sure I'd participate in. It wasn't that they seemed boring, I just wasn't sure if I'd become a big-shot coordinator like mom.

I caught the bugs and they went to the pc. Raiden and Lux went around finding items for me. They found 1 Pecha berry, 1 chesto berry, 2 Oran berry and 1 Guard spec. After that I moved on to Eterna city.


	5. chapte 4

* * * Chapter IV * * *  
\- Forest Fortress, A Champion, and a Galactic Hideout -

 

Rafe, Thursday October 5 - 8:30 (Eterna Pokemon center - Rafe's room) —-

 

I felt fine when I woke up. The parasite had only eaten a few pokemon the night before, and the images from the incident were fading fast. I got dressed, made sure everyone was fed, then left the 'center.

I checked the map, but there didn't seem to be much of interest in Eterna. I did come across a large statue near the top of the city though. Koji was there too, grabbing my hand and leading me to the statue itself. The parasite couldn't give me a clear picture of the statue, it must have been something indistinct. There could have been something interfering as well, we'd been in similar situations like this before, but they were usually unknown pokemon or locations covered in fog.

The parasite showed me an image of the same blue-haired man from the lake a few days ago as well. He was apparently standing near the statue (just like Koji and I were doing). For a few moments all was silent, then the parasite gave me an image of the blue-haired man leaving, which was confirmed by footsteps going away from me.

"How you doin' today Rafe?" Koji asked after the man had left.  
I shrugged. "Ok I guess. Got better sleep than usual last night ..."  
"Glad to hear it! Gotta go, see you later!"  
"Ok see ya,"

I walked a little closer to the statue when I was alone, hoping the parasite could get a better look at it. No such luck. When I reached out to touch it, something fell into my hand. The parasite showed me an image of a stone plate with a picture of a dragon on it.  
* Wonder what this is for? *  
I decided to keep the plate, putting it in my pack.

I stayed a little longer, then started back toward the city. As I was walking back, the parasite sent me an image of a blonde woman in black. She followed me for a bit then stopped in front of me.  
"Hello," she said.  
I nodded. "Hi,"  
"I am Cynthia, the current Sinnoh League champion," she said.

I smiled a little.  
"Name's Rafiel, just call me Rafe though,"  
"Alright. So how are you doing Rafe?"  
I pulled off the goggles (which I'd been wearing since I got dressed) and ran a hand through my hair.  
"Alright,"  
* What the hell am I supposed ta tell her? I don't even know her ... Why couldn't she have asked something else ... *  
I usually didn't trust easily, and tried to keep personal stuff to myself when Koji and Gabby weren't around. Even mom didn't know everything.

"That's good. Here take this hm I'm sure you'll find a use for it."  
She handed me an hm, which turned out to be hm 01 Cut.  
"Thanks," I said, putting it away in my pack.

Back near the main part of town I went into a house near the Pokemon center. A man inside gave me an Explorer kit, which he said I could use to explore the Underground. I would try it out later. Raiden found me a Super potion as I was meandering through some trees in town as well.

—- —- —-

In front of the gym a girl spoke to me. She said her name was Gardenia and then went inside. I followed her in, immediately smelling several different types of trees. A little boy came up to me and told me about the gym and its leader. He said that she (Gardenia) used grass type pokemon. I thanked him and left, intending to go to the 'center and assemble a team to deal with grass-types. Before I left though, I defeated the three trainers in the gym.

In the 'center, I (with the parasites' help) came up with a team. I switched Lauren (Machoke) with the male Buneary I'd caught in the forest. I also grabbed Psy (the Abra I'd gotten from the girl in Orburgh city as a trade) too. My team now consisted of Lux (Kirlia) Raiden (Hitmonlee) Casey (Ponyta) Ace (Staravia) Psy (Abra) and Buneary, who I'd named Rocket. I went out to Route 205 - the closest route - to train.

I'd gotten a Soothe bell from Cheryl the night before, but couldn't give it to Buneary. He had an ability that wouldn't allow him to hold and use any items except for one's that dealt with exp. and items like Macho brace. I gave him a Quick claw instead. I looked up Buneary's evolution, choosing to evolve him for the gym battle.

The first one I worked with was Psy. At lv 16 he evolved into Kadabra. The fact that he knew Ice punch really helped. Instead of taking hours (which I'd suspected) it took only half an hour to evolve him. With both Ice punch and Teleport it wasn't so bad.

Rocket (Buneary) was next. He mostly knew basic attacks like Pound and Defense curl, so it was a little more difficult than working with Abra had been. I managed though: he evolved at lv 18 into Lopunny. At this point he knew Pound, Defense curl, Foresight, and Quick attack. I went through my tm's to see what attacks he could learn. It turned out he could learn a lot, but I chose tm 34 Shock wave and tm 27 Return from the long list, getting rid of Foresight and Defense curl to do so.

I made sure to level up Psy and Rocket to lv 25 before working on the others. Staravia and Casey were already lv 25 so I left them alone. Lux and Raiden were lv 27 (Kirlia) and lv 28 (Hitmonlee).

I looked up Lux's information in the Pokedex, discovering that he could evolve any time after becoming a Kirlia with the help of a Dawn stone.  
* Good thing mom got me this ... * I thought as I took out said stone.  
I gave Lux the stone and he evolved into Gallade. Gallade was a psychic-fighting type according to the Pokedex.  
* Nice, another fighting type. *

I worked with Gallade, getting him to lv 30. He knew Teleport, Confusion, Will-o-wisp, and Shadow sneak still. I went through the list of tm's, finding out he could learn both Shock wave and Brick break. Since Shock wave was an electric-type move and grass-types had resistance to electric-type moves, I decided to only teach him Brick break. I got rid of Will-o-wisp in order to do so. I also got Hitmonlee to lv 30 then went back to the city.

—- —- —-

The clock was out of the way since I'd battled all the trainers, so I just walked up to the leader.  
"You didn't mention you were the gym leader," I said, Lux and Raiden standing beside me.  
"I was hoping you'd figure it out,"  
"A little boy in here told me,"  
"Oh you mean Kit, he's my brother."

"Never mind that, let's get started."  
"You're up Turtwig!"  
"Lux you take this one,"  
"Gardenia's Turtwig versus Rafiel's Gallade ... begin!" the referee said.

— * * * * —

"Razor leaf!"  
"Teleport,"  
I waited several seconds.  
"Confusion,"

The parasite gave me an image of the grass-type hitting the ground hard.  
"Get up. Use Razor leaf again,"  
"Dodge and use Confusion,"  
From what little I knew of Turtwig (which was studying about it in school the year before) she could have evolved it by now.  
* This is gonna be easy ... *

When Confusion hit the grass-type refused to give up.  
"Razor leaf again!"  
"You're finished. Brick break,"  
The fighting-type move knocked out the Turtwig.

— * * * * —

"That was unexpected. Go! Cherim!"  
I pulled out my Pokedex to check out this pokemon since I'd never heard of it. Apparently it was the evolved form of Cherubi, another grass-type.  
"Come on back Lux. Go! Psy!"  
"Psy? Oh a Kadabra!" the girl said.  
* Can we start now? *  
"Gardenia's Cherim versus Rafiel's Kadabra ... begin!" the referee said.

— * * * * —

"Safeguard,"  
"Teleport,"  
I checked out what Safeguard did with the Pokedex while I waited to give Psy the command to attack. It put up a barrier that prevented all status problems for a while.  
* Good thing Psy doesn't know any moves only for that. *  
Moves that fell under that category were Thunder wave, Will-o-wisp, and Toxic.

"Now! Use Psybeam,"  
"Dodge that,"  
"Follow it,"

It took a few tries, but Psy was finally able to hit the thing. It moved surprisingly well for being a plant. Another round of Teleport-Psybeam knocked the plant out.  
* That was easier than I thought. *

— * * * * —

"Return Cherim. We'll beat him this time! Go! Roserade!"  
"Go! Casey!"  
"What's ... ooh, that's a Ponyta. I don't really care for fire-types, but that one's really cute,"  
* And deadly in the right hands ... *  
"Gardenia's Roserade versus Rafiel's Ponyta ... begin!" the referee said.

— * * * * —

"Trip it with Grass knot!"  
"Dodge and use Stomp,"  
The Stomp hit its target, the parasite letting me know with a picture.  
"Run a distance away and use Stun spore!"  
* Why would you do that? You need to be close-range for that attack ... *  
I would know since I'd used it with my Roselia.

"Dodge that," I said offhandedly, hoping she couldn't actually have her grass-type shoot the spores farther away than usual somehow.  
"You dodged that one, let's see you do it again. Stun spore!"  
"Dodge,"  
I knew he could dodge again, he was really fast and was built for running, unlike the plant-like Roserade.

The parasite sent me an image of the perfect dodge Casey made.  
* Good job, *  
"Finish this with Flame wheel,"  
"Dodge,"

"Flame wheel again,"  
On the last one, Casey slammed into the grass-type. It ran away from him once it noticed it was on fire, which the parasite showed me. It was very satisfying to see the plant running around on fire before it finally collapsed and fainted.

— * * * —

"Return Roserade! You're my last shot ... Go! Cherim!"  
I covered my ears as she spoke, the sound of her voice was way too loud.  
"Looks like you're up next Rocket. Return Casey,"  
I recalled the horse-pokemon and sent out the bunny instead.  
"Gardenia's Cherim versus Rafiel's Lopunny ... begin!" the referee said.

— * * * * —

"Safeguard,"  
"Jump kick,"  
"Dodge that,"

Lopunny's attack missed. I wasn't too surprised since he'd just learned that attack and we hadn't had a lot of time to practice.  
"Use your Quick attack to regroup,"  
The super-fast attack worked, the bunny slamming hard into the plant. Unfortunately, the attack wasn't all that powerful. Since Quick attack was generally weaker than some of his others so I wasn't surprised.

"Return,"  
"You're giving up?" Gardenia asked.  
"No," I said, the parasite giving me an image of Rocket creating hearts to throw at the plant.  
"Fire!" I said, hearing them hit the Cherim.

"That was interesting ... Use Absorb!"  
"Get out of its range then use Jump kick,"  
The strategy worked, the plant couldn't dodge while it was trying to attack. It fell over unconscious just seconds after being kicked.

— * * * * —

"You did much better than I expected," Gardenia said.  
"How's that?"  
"People don't usually take out Turtwig that fast. Most of the time it takes psychic-users longer than that to take out my grass-types. Also, though it looks way too cute to fight, your Lopunny did very well."

I shrugged. "His Jump kick needs a little work,"  
"I'll agree with you there. I do wonder though ... Why didn't you have him use Ice beam? I know he can learn it,"  
"I don't have that tm yet,"  
"Oh ok then. You earned these,"

The leader put two items in my hand.  
"The tm is tm 86 Grass knot, and the badge is the Forest badge for beating my gym. You can now use hm 01 Cut out of battle if you'd like,"  
I nodded, putting both away.  
"Good luck at the next gym, the leader uses Ghost-types,"  
I thanked her for the info then left the gym.

—- —- —-

I'd gotten 7040 for beating Gardenia. That was 3520 doubled, which the Luck incense Lux had been carrying made possible. I went straight to the 'center to heal after the gym battle. I switched out Ace with Roselia since I remembered the parasite having sent me images of places where Cut could be used in and around the city. After that I exited the 'center.

The first place I went was to a tree near a building that wasn't marked on the map. I taught Roselia Cut and had her chop the tree down. After cutting it down I got tm 46 Thief, which I put away. I'd teach it to someone later.

I checked the map, figuring out there was an area of the forest I'd missed. I didn't really remember the Old chateau, but I was sure that I could find it with the parasites' help. Before that though, there was an area I needed to explore just outside the forest. I made my way to it first.

—- —- —-

I had Roselia cut a tree and then kept going. There were four trees with berries on them, so I picked them along the way. I got two each of Oran, Bluk, and Razz. There was only one Cheri berry, but I picked it up anyway.

I kept moving, hoping there would be something else to do. Raiden ran off and came back with a Silver powder, which increased bug-type moves by 20 percent. Lux left and returned with tm 82 Sleep talk. That move would allow a pokemon to attack while it was asleep, but a random move would be chosen. Raiden got me tm 13 Ice beam, which I taught to Rocket. There were no more items (or anything else to do) here, so I went back into the Eterna forest in search of the Old Chateau.

—- —- —-

I made my way through the forest, checking the map app every once in a while. Eventually the parasite sent me an image of a tree to cut down. Gardenia was near it.  
"Hi Rafiel," the girl said as I came up.

"Just call me Rafe," I told her.  
"Ok. You going into the mansion?"  
I waited for a moment for the picture I was sure the parasite would send. Thankfully I'd put the goggles back on before going into Gardenia's gym earlier. Finally the parasite showed me an image of a mansion.  
* This must be the Old Chateau. *  
A quick check with the map confirmed that.

"Yeah," I said finally.  
"It's supposed to be haunted so be careful,"  
"I will," I said, hearing the girl's footsteps retreat.  
* Wonder if Koji would like this place? *  
He was always talking about wanting to go on adventures and such, so I was a little disappointed he wasn't here with me.

I walked around the outside of the mansion, letting the parasite give me a detailed picture of the layout. Raiden found me an Ether near a fence. After a while I was ready to go inside.

—- —- —-

In the mansion, there were lots of items. Raiden and Lux got a Rare candy and a Big pearl for me in the Dining room of the place. Directly upstairs from the Dining room Raiden walked off and came back with an item. It was called the Old Gateau, which could heal all status problems of one pokemon. I sniffed the thing before putting it away.  
* This will probably taste horrendous ... *

After getting the Old gateau, I followed the house's wall, finally coming to a corridor. I followed the wall some more, eventually finding a room. Inside I collected a Dread plate, which I suspected did something with the first plate I'd found. There was a picture of a shadowy figure on this plate. I put it away and kept going.

There were more rooms along the corridor. All but the last one were empty however. In the last room, Lux went off and brought me back a tm. This was tm 90 Substitute. I stowed it in my pack and moved on.

—- —- —-

I sauntered into another room and froze. Well, the parasite took over my body and we both froze. I could see through its eyes now. This was a room with nothing in it but a bookshelf and a tv.  
* Why is there a tv in here? * I thought.

* Maybe it belonged to the previous owner of this place. * the parasite supplied.  
I didn't fight him (I was pretty sure the parasite was male) as he explored the room. He picked up books and flipped through them, not reading anything of interest.

The parasite must have heard something I couldn't, because all of a sudden it moved toward the tv. Before I could protest, it thumped the tv hard. For some reason the parasite pressed the button on my watch to see what time it was.  
"21:00." the machine said.

For a few minutes, nothing happened. Then, creepy music started playing from somewhere. After that, a flashing light appeared. Whatever it was (and the parasite was unsure exactly) it flew toward us.  
* I will kill that thing if it gets too close. * the parasite growled into my mind.  
* You have my permission to do so. * I thought.

— * * * * —

The parasite moved out of the way as the floating thing came closer. It stood there for a moment, trying to examine what it could see of the thing. A few minutes later the thing cried out in anger (it must be alive somehow) and rocketed toward us. The parasite dodged again, narrowly avoiding its attack.

I knew my eyes were yellow now, but the goggles were still on, so no one would see. The parasite ducked several books as the thing used them to attack us. He grabbed one off the floor when it fell and chucked it at the floating creature. The book went right through it.

* That's a pokemon ... I think. It must be a ghost type. * I thought.  
* My thoughts exactly. * thought the parasite.  
* Let's capture it. * I thought.

"You are mine," the parasites' gravelly voice said as it brought out a poke ball.  
It tried to throw the ball, but the floating pokemon just swerved out of the way.  
"Use Confusion on it Gallade," the parasite said.

The attack was used, but it was still able to move around.  
"Confusion once more,"  
Again, the attack hit, but didn't do that much damage.  
"Shadow sneak,"

That was the attack that did the trick. After being hit by the psychic-fighting type, the creature stopped floating and slowly drifted to the ground. The parasite caught it with a Great ball.

— * * * * —

Suddenly I was in control again, holding onto the Great ball tightly. I pressed the button on the ball to release the pokemon, hoping it was in the Pokedex. I pulled out said device with my free hand.  
"Rotom ... ghost-electric type ... no further data at this time ..." the machine said.  
* That's great ... *  
I recalled the pokemon (vaguely wondering why the ball hadn't been transported to the pc when I caught it). And yes, as I held onto the ball it disappeared.  
* Better late than never I guess ... *

—- —- —-

Back in Eterna city I healed my pokemon. There hadn't been a lot of intensive fights, but there were many ghost type pokemon in the mansion. Or maybe it would be more accurate to say there were many Gastly in the mansion. I already had one, so I didn't catch another, but there were plenty to fight. I'd made sure to get everyone to lv 30 (except for Roselia which was lv 25) before leaving the 'haunted mansion.'

I chose not to use the new pokemon just yet. It did have a unique dual-type though, which I would use the hell out of later. Outside the 'center I used the map app, figuring that since I hadn't explored there yet, I could go to the unmarked building. I started in that direction, ready for anything.

Koji ran up to me just as I was about to go inside the building.  
"I heard that's a Team galactic base," he said.  
"Yeah?"  
"Yeah. There are supposed to be a lot of Galactics in there,"  
I pulled off the goggles and let him see it as I rolled my eyes.  
"What are you sayin' Koji?"

He sighed, putting a hand on my shoulder. I was momentarily stunned into silence by the image he made, the parasite giving me a close-up of him.  
"... ... Rafe?"  
I shook my head.  
"Yeah?"  
"Did you hear anything I just said?"  
"Sorry, no,"

He ran a hand through my hair, which I leant into unconsciously.  
"Let's take them on together Rafe,"  
"You sure? I mean, you don't have other stuff to do right now?"  
I could probably take out the Galactics myself (no matter how many there were) but I'd really missed not being around Koji since the journey started. Any opportunity I could get to hang out with him was worth it.

"What pokemon do you have with you?" I asked, bringing a hand down to circle around his wrist.  
Surprisingly he didn't pull away.  
* Does he really like me, or does this just not bother him? *  
"Prinplup, Golbat, Pachirisu, Kadabra, Beautifly, and Buneary."  
"Think you can handle them?" I asked, meaning the Galactics, not his pokemon.  
"Yeah. Buneary's the lowest in level, and I wanna evolve her anyway. What do you have with you?"

"Lux, Raiden, Roselia, Casey, Psy, and Rocket."  
He put a hand atop mine on his wrist, gently massaging circles into my hand.  
"I only know three of those. Lux is your ... was your Ralts and Raiden was your Tyrogue right?"  
I nodded, hearing both pokemon come up. They'd gone off somewhere and were just coming back. The psychic-fighting type teleported in, while the fighting type walked.  
"Lux is a Gallade now and Raiden evolved into Hitmonlee a while ago."  
"Cool, so what are the others?"  
I blinked, not understanding why he was so confused.

* I am so used to having Koji around, that I forgot he hasn't been around ... *  
I felt myself blush lightly.  
"Casey is a Ponyta, Psy is a Kadabra, and Rocket is my Lopunny."

He laughed a little.  
"Forgot I haven't been around to know?"  
"Yeah,"  
"Can you show me your Lopunny before we go in? I'd like to see what Buneary evolves into up close."  
I nodded, taking Rocket's ball from my belt and letting him out.

"Nice. Is he really strong?"  
I chuckled. "Surprised you caught that. It's supposed to be hard to tell which gender they are. ... Sorry ... he's almost as strong as Raiden, which is surprising since he's a normal-type."  
"Yeah. You got any good tm's I could use on my Buneary?"  
I pulled out tm 34 and tm 13.  
"Use these, they're Ice beam and Shock wave, which your Buneary should be able to learn."  
"Thanks,"

—- —- —-

Inside Koji followed me. We'd decided it would be easier that way. Since there were supposed to be a lot of Galactics in here, we would share the battles. If there were say four in a room, we would each take two, or do a double-battle if they would agree to one.

Just inside a Galactic came up to me. The parasite let me know it was one.  
"What the hell?" Koji hissed in my ear.  
It was so out of character for him I almost shook the boy to make sure it was really Koji.  
"What?" I asked the Galactic.  
"It's me, Looker,"

I sighed, putting a restraining hand on Koji's wrist to keep him from moving forward.  
"Koji this is Looker, a guy I met in Jubilife,"  
I left out the part where I suspected the guy was following me. It was probably best to not get Koji rialed up even more than usual.  
"Who's this?" Looker asked.  
"A friend of mine from my home-town, his name is Koji," I said.

"Can you both do something for me?" asked the man.  
Again, he was wearing black and blue clothing, but the black was only in the jacket he'd thrown over his Galactic uniform.  
"What?" I asked.  
"Not blow my cover. I am here for a reason."  
I shrugged. "Don't get in the way and I can do that."  
I nudged Koji, who grudgingly agreed. After that we moved on.

Koji and I double-battled two Galactic grunts a little further in. They were pretty easy to defeat. Climbing up some stairs led us to another pair, who we fought separately. Raiden retrieved an X speed for me, then we continued on.

We took the staircase on the right after leaving the X speed room. There were four grunts in the next room, only two of which would fight us. The other two just made rude comments. We both ignored them and went up another staircase at the right of the room.

In the next room there was a male and female grunt. I took on the male, while Koji dealt with the female. The female made a rude comment about us being gay after Koji finished her team. I shrugged, but the orange-loving boy just had to say something.  
"So what if we are, does that really disgust you?"  
* This is what I was afraid of. If you do this around your parents, they might disown you or worse. *  
I wasn't afraid of them myself, but Koji deserved to have a family.

I didn't hear what the girl said to that. Lux brought me an item, which I focused on instead of the woman's voice. Said item was an X special. After I stowed the item, I walked over to Koji. I had to literally drag him out of the room. The woman was still throwing insults at us as I did, but I really didn't care.

Downstairs again we took the middle staircase up. Koji took my hand in his once we'd climbed the stairs.  
"Rafe?"  
"Yeah?"  
"Did what she said bother you? I mean, do you want people to know that you're gay?"

I sighed, running my free hand through my hair.  
"The only people who matter to me know already. Why does it matter if anyone else knows? I just worry what your parents will do when they find out you're friends with a gay boy, let alone that you're gay yourself."

He squeezed my hand tightly.  
"Let me deal with them,"  
"Ok," I said, liking the contact.  
"Koji, are you goin' ta keep holdin' my hand like this? I don't really care, but you usually shy away from physical contact when it's ..."

Before I could say anything else, I was being shoved against a wall, Koji's lips crushed against my own. I gasped, opening my mouth a little, which he responded to by slipping his tongue inside. I wiggled my hand out of his grip, grabbing both his arms at the elbow and squeezing tightly. I wasn't sure this was actually happening, and seeing his reaction to something that would no doubt be painful would confirm it was real.

Eventually we both had to pull back for air. What shocked me though was that Koji didn't remove my hands. In fact, he seemed to enjoy the contact, leaning into me a little.  
"Koji ..."  
"Sorry, probably shoulda asked first," he said in a voice a little husky from the intense kiss.  
I shook my head.  
"No, I wanted it,"

"Just don't go off for long periods without more of that," I said with a wink.  
He chuckled. "Not sure I wanna leave at all now."  
"We got this base to clear out and then we'll see what happens next." I said.  
"Yeah,"

I thought for a moment, letting my grip loosen just enough on one arm to rub gentle circles into the skin of his upper arm.  
"You beat the Eterna gym yet?" I finally asked.  
It took him a few minutes to answer.  
"Yeah, just did before I met up with you outside this building,"  
"Good,"

—- —- —-

Raiden and Lux found me a Blue shard, a Revive, and an item called Upgrade as we continued through the building. We (Koji and I) fought many more Galactics. Some of them were even scientists.  
* Why would a scientist want to work for these guys? They are crazy at the very least, and power-hungry at best. *  
Of course, most of the information I had on Team galactic was what I'd learned in school, so it might not be completely accurate.

After all the battles, I healed my pokemon with items. I gave Koji some Potions to use since he said he was a little low on those. After we were both healed up we went into the next room.

I heard a noise on the roof and started over to a wall (where I could hopefully find a window) to try and get up there. Koji stopped me, putting a hand on my neck.  
"Let me deal with that, you go and fight the lady with the purple hair over there," he said.  
"Over where?" I whispered.  
"To your right, see ya after the battle,"  
* How does he know there'll be a battle? *

—- —- —-

The parasite sent me an image of a woman with purple hair. She was dressed in a turquoise uniform like most Galactics, but hers had the words "zeus" and "jupiter" stitched on the front. I walked up to her and she started speaking.  
"Eh? Did you want something? How silly of me even to ask. You want to free the pokemon. Fine! I, Jupiter, will deal with you."

"Fine. Go! Lux!"  
"Lux? Ahh right, you're still a kid. Cute nicknames must make you feel good. Show them! Go! Zubat!"

— * * * * —

"Giga drain,"  
"Teleport away,"  
I waited nearly thirty seconds before giving an attack command.  
"Confusion,"

"Supersonic!"  
"You know what to do,"  
This was the signal I'd chosen for 'use Shadow sneak.' The parasite gave me an image of the bat dropping to the ground with a loud 'thud.' It flapped upward, but seemed very weak.

"Giga drain again!"  
"Dodge and use Shadow sneak,"  
The in-shadows attack hit and knocked the bat out of the sky. It landed on the ground hard and did not get up.

— * * * * —

"Finish this. Go! Skunktank!"  
I looked that pokemon up before making my next move. It was a poison-dark combo.  
* So not Lux or Psy then ... *  
"Return Lux. Go! Rocket!"  
"Rocket? Ooh a Lopunny," Jupiter said in a sickly-sweet voice.

— * * * * —

"Night slash!"  
"Quick attack,"  
I was unsure if Rocket would be fast enough, but Quick attack was meant as a dodge-tactic here. He managed to turn it into an offensive move though, getting around the skunk's defenses by being way too fast to hit. He knocked the fluffy skunk over easily. It got up unfortunately.

"Tackle!"  
"Stay where you are. When it comes close enough Jump kick,"  
"That won't help you,"  
* We'll see about that ... *

The parasite kept me updated on what was happening. The Jump kick hit, but the skunk was still standing.  
* Damnit! *  
"Return,"  
"You're giving up? Good, you should be,"  
"Not a chance," I said, smirking a little.

"Wipe that smirk off his face! Night slash!"  
"Quick attack then Return,"  
Rocket charged up the heart-projectiles as he ran, something the parasite let me know. When he was ready the hearts slammed into the skunk, landing several hits on its face and body.  
"Return again,"

It was this last attack that took the Skunktank out of the fight.  
"Losing to some child ... Being careless cost me too much."

— * * * * —

I withdrew Rocket after the fight was over.  
"Well, aren't you tough? It's ok, though. Our official pokemon-statue investigation is finished. Mars has collected energy from the Valley Windworks. We're pretty much finished here."

"I'll let you in on one little thing. Our boss is researching the myths of ancient pokemon. With the power of mythical pokemon, he will become the ruler of Sinnoh ... I suggest you keep out of Team galactic's affairs from now on. This is your last warning!"

Jupiter's little speech was seriously over-worded.  
I snorted. "Why are you tellin' me all this? Wouldn't it be better ta keep your plans a secret?"  
* Although this does explain things somewhat ... *  
"I don't have to explain myself to a child. I am leaving now," the woman said as she walked off.  
* That was rude ... *

Koji came up to me and grabbed both my wrists.  
"What's this for?" I asked.  
"To keep you from following her. She's going to be gone before you can catch up to her."  
I shrugged, not shaking off his grip.  
"Who said I wanted to follow her? I was more concerned with you actually."

He leaned into me. I could feel his breath against my face when he spoke again.  
"You were worried about me Rafe?"  
I felt myself nod. It was becoming hard to think with him this close.

He kissed me again, rough and dominating this time. I figured he didn't hold back since I'd shown so much interest before. I responded by shaking out of his grasp and gripping his upper arms again. I practically melded my mouth with his, hoping he'd shove me against a wall again. Under most circumstances I'd feel claustrophobic, but this, I liked. There was just something so fucking hot about being forced against a wall that made me forget how trapped I was.

Thankfully for me he did just that. I moaned into the kiss, my hands falling against the hard surface of the wall as he pressed himself against me. We were so close I could feel his jeans and poke ball belt pressing against me. He grabbed my wrists, bringing my hands above my head and holding them there. I knew I could fight him, but didn't want to. I had no experience with stuff like this, so I wasn't sure what fetishes I might have, but I did know I liked being manhandled by him.

We kissed like that for what felt like hours. And yes, I know how stupid and cliche that sounds. But it's true though. After a while he pulled back, laying his head on my shoulder as he tried to get his breath back.  
I chuckled. "Why didn't we do this before?"

It took him several minutes to answer. While I waited, he let my wrists fall to my sides. When they got there he gripped them tightly, making me moan out in pleasured surprise.  
"You like that? Like when I manhandle and control you?" he asked.  
His words were music to my ears. All I could do was nod frantically. My throat was refusing to work - which was a little scary.

— —- —-

I got 3680 for beating Jupiter. Koji said he'd fought against Mars on the roof and won. I was shoved out of the way mentally by the parasite a short time after the battle. It (he?) stalked through the building (which was now abandoned,) Koji following. The other boy asked what was going on, but the parasite stayed silent.  
* Guess it does care about my wishes. *

It led us to a closet. It instructed Lux to break a lock with Confusion. The lock fell to the floor and the parasite (still using my body) pulled the door open. Inside was a man, who said he worked at the Bicycle shop in Eterna city. He asked us to come to the shop, which we all agreed to. And somehow the parasite managed to make its voice sound like mine.

I was abruptly in control after that. I started toward the bike shop, Koji still following me.  
"That was kinda weird. Why were you so quiet back there?" Koji asked.  
I shrugged.  
* Still can't tell him. He'll think I'm a freak ... *  
"Just didn't feel like talking much," I finally said.  
"So how'd you know the man was locked in the closet?"

I sighed. "Heard him earlier. He was banging on the door."  
Of course that was a lie.  
"He wasn't ..."  
"Koji, just stop asking questions. I'll tell you later,"  
"Did I say something wrong?"  
I sighed again.  
"No, just ... don't feel like talking much right now,"  
* Wanna tell ya but so afraid ... You're more than just a friend to me now. *

Cynthia ran up to us as we were still working our way through the city.  
"Rafe! Wait!"  
I stopped, Koji putting a hand on my wrist.  
"Sorry Rafe," he said.  
"For what?" I asked, turning to face him.  
"I almost ran into you," he said.

"I have something for you," Cynthia said.  
She cleared her throat after speaking.  
"What's that?" I asked.  
"I want each of you to take an egg I have. It's the pokemon Togepi when it hatches."  
I shrugged. "Ok,"  
"Sure," Koji said.  
"You will both need open slots for it. Go back to the Pokemon center and put a pokemon into the pc, then come back here and I'll give you the eggs."

* Bossy isn't she? *  
"Alright," Koji and I said.  
At the 'center I put Roselia in the pc. Koji put something in there as well and grabbed my hand after I was done.  
"You ready to go back and see Cynthia about the egg?"  
"Yeah, it'll give me an excuse to use the egg app you made."

I went back to where Cynthia was. Koji was right behind me.  
"Oh you've come back. Here is the egg, one for each of you,"  
I was given an egg, and I assume Koji got his too.  
"I'll see you both later, have things to take care of," Cynthia said, then left.

* There is no way I wanna deal with this thing right now. *  
I located the egg app and checked out the egg. After doing so I started off toward the 'center again.  
"Where are you going?" Koji asked.  
"Back to the 'center. Don't feel like hatching this egg right now,"  
"And the app?" he asked.  
"I tried it out,"

"When? You didn't have time to use it did you?"  
I blinked. "I scanned the egg with the app. Didn't try it out to make sure the number of steps was correct though."  
"Well that's a start ..."  
I rolled my eyes. Thankfully the parasite shoved the goggles onto my face every time it took over, or people would see the eye color change and ... things could get very bad. I pulled the goggles off again.  
"I'll work with it more later. She just ... annoyed me. Did she seem ... pushy to you?"  
"Yeah, very,"

Back at the 'center, I went through what I had. I decided to train Buizel (a water type) and Pachirisu (another electric type). I switched the egg (which somehow could be stored in the pc) with Pachirisu. Psy was switched with Buizel. They were both male. I called Pachirisu Plug (he was carrying one around and seemed to really like the thing). I decided to call Buizel Jet since he sprayed me with water when I first caught him.

Once I'd sorted out the team, Koji put a hand on my shoulder.  
"How does hanging out for the rest of the night sound?" he asked.  
"Great,"  
"So where to next?"  
"The bike shop. I think there's another route near the city, we'll go there after that,"  
"Sounds good,"

At the shop, I got a bike. The parasite allowed me to 'see' that it was painted black with small red flames.  
"Can I see your bike?" Koji asked.  
I nodded. "Can I check yours out?"  
"Sure,"

His was dark blue with orange triangles painted randomly along the frame. I got this information from the parasite, but I made sure to run my hands over the bike to keep up appearances.  
* I will tell you sometime, just not now. Not sure when really ... Still such a scary idea at all ... *

The route turned out to be Route 211 West, which was ironically east of Eterna city. Koji stopped me before I could go very far onto the route.  
"Let's take ... say 15 minutes or so and go around catching what we can. We can trade for what we didn't catch later."  
I thought about that for a moment, using the 'scan area app.  
"Ok. I'm lookin' for Chingling, Meditite, and Bronzor."

"I want a Bidoof, a chingling, a Meditite, and a Bronzor. I'll try and catch you a Meditite. You think you can find the others?"  
"Yeah. I'll catch you a Bronzor."  
"Sounds good. Let's split up now,"

We did. I found a Bronzor pretty easily, capturing 2 of them. I also picked up a Chingling. As an afterthought, I grabbed 2 of them. If Koji managed to get one for himself, I could always keep one and evolve the other.

There were no other pokemon I wanted, so I worked on training Buizel and Pachirisu while I waited for Koji to finish. I managed to get Buizel to lv 23 and Pachirisu to lv 22. After that Koji ran up to me, placing a hand on my neck.  
"You done?" he asked.  
"If you mean: did I get what I wanted, then yes,"

"So you got a Chingling and a Bronzor?"  
I smiled. "Yeah. Got 2 of each actually."  
"I got a Zubat and two Meditite,"  
"What's the Zubat for since you already have a Golbat?"  
"It's for you. I know you said you never wanted to catch one back in school, but it might be useful once it evolves."  
I grinned, kissing him hard.  
"We'll see."

"Need something, since you got two for me to trade." he said, having kissed me back just as hard.  
"Let's figure that out tomorrow," I said, taking his hand.


	6. chapter 5

* * * Chapter V * * *  
\- Biking Around, Caves, and a Kadabra-Friend -

 

Rafe, Friday October 6 - 10:00 (Eterna city Pokemon center - Rafe's room) —-

 

I woke slowly, feeling like I needed more sleep. Koji and I had a late-night snack (it was 2:00 before we went to bed) then finally crashed for the night. I'm not sure if the parasite left to hunt or not. I didn't remember anything if it had. I showered, got dressed, ate something, then left the room.

Out in the lobby Koji found me.  
"Hi Rafe,"  
"Hey Koji,"

"Ready to trade?" Koji asked.  
I nodded. "So Chingling and Bronzor on my side and Meditite and Zubat on yours right?"  
"Yeah," he said, shoving up my sleeve to lightly squeeze above my watch.  
He'd gotten more and more bold about touching the night before, something I really liked.

I went to the pc and grabbed the two pokemon in question. Koji lay his head on my shoulder as I was powering the pc down.  
"Got yours?" I asked, putting a hand on his shoulder.  
"Yeah let's go,"

The trades were made. My Chingling for his Meditite and my Bronzor for his Zubat. I put both pokemon into the pc, deciding to work with them later. After I was done with the pc, Koji suggested doing our own thing for the rest of the day and meeting up at night. I agreed, saying Hearthome (the next city we could reach) would be a good place to meet up. He agreed, leaving right after the decision had been made.

—- —- —-

On Route 211 West Raiden ran off. He came back with several items, one of which was tm 12 Taunt. He also found me a Great ball and tm 28 Dig. I'd put Buizel and Pachirisu back on the team after the trades with Koji, so I would train them now.

There were some trainers on the route, so I took care of them next. Pachirisu was the first to get to lv 30 out of the two.. Buizel evolved at lv 26 into Floatzel. After he evolved I got him to lv 30. He was very strong, but since I wasn't particularly into water-types, I wasn't sure how much I'd use him just yet.

The next area was part of Mt. Coronet. In there I caught a Cleffa and a Nosepass. Cleffa was a normal-type and Nosepass was a rock-type. Cleffa wasn't something I'd really use, but Gabby'd expressed interest in one the night before I'd left on my journey, saying they were "cute."

I'd looked up Nosepass before deciding whether or not to catch it. Although I already had two other rock types (Onix and Geodude) Nosepass had an interesting evolution. It could only evolve in Mt. Coronet, so I chose to get one and evolve it later.

The last thing I did before leaving the small part of Mt. Coronet I could get to was identify the items Lux and Raiden had collected for me. They'd located 1 Ice heal, 1 Energy powder, and 1 Stardust.  
* I will have a lot of things to sell later. *  
Raiden broke a rock and gave me a Red shard (which fell out of it) and then I left the Mt. Coronet cave.

Back in Eterna city I healed everyone. A lady walked up to me and tapped me on the shoulder. The parasite briefly took over to show me this. She handed me a chip and told me I could keep it.

On the chip was a new poke-etch app. This one was called the Friendship app. It would allow me to check how much happiness a pokemon had. This could be useful in some evolutions. Some pokemon (like Buneary and Budew for instance) went by how much happiness they had instead of what level they were at to evolve.

I went outside the 'center after that, using the map to see what else there was to do in town. Apparently there was a shop where I could buy herbal items, so I made my way over there next. I sold 1 Big pearl, 1 Rare candy, 1 Sp. Def, 1 Ether, and 1 X special. When I stepped back from the counter the parasite counted out 7670 for all of that.

The parasite read the available purchases for me. I could buy a Heal powder, an Energy powder, an Energy root, or a Revival herb. The Heal powder was the herbal equivalent of a Full heal, an item which healed all status problems of one pokemon. Energy powder healed 50 hp while Energy root healed 200 hp. The Revival herb was the herbal equivalent of a Revive. I bought 1 Heal powder, 2 Energy powder, 1 Energy root, and 1 Revival herb. After making the purchases I left the shop.

Once out of the shop, I got onto my bike. I checked the map, finding out there was another Route nearby. I set off toward it, Raiden and Lux following on foot (or using short teleporting "jumps" in Lux's case).

In the gate house that led to the next route (Route 206) a man ran up to me. After asking who I was he said he had something for me. The parasite let me know he was a scientist. He handed me a box and left.

Inside the box was an item. This item was called the EXP share. A note was in the box as well, which the parasite took over to read. It was from Gabby and explained that she'd come across this item in the lab and the professor had had no use for it.  
* Hmmm, I have Raiden, Lux, Rocket, Jet, Plug, and Casey. *  
I gave the EXP share to Casey for the moment. A quick scan with the Pokedex showed he would evolve at lv 40 so this would help some.

On Route 206 I crossed a bridge. I traveled along the route for a while, finally coming to another gate house. In said gate house a girl came up to me. She was blonde, which the parasite informed me. She gave me a flag, which was an accessory for contests. I put the flag away and then kept going.

Outside the gate house I picked 2 Razz berries. The parasite showed me a tree that could be cut down, but I had no one who knew Cut with me. I got on the bike and rode back to Eterna city in order to get someone who did.

In the 'center I switched Plug (Pachirisu) with Roselia. I could have put Floatzel away, since he wasn't being used much, but I decided to keep him for now. Since I now had a pokemon that could use Cut, it was time to go back to Route 206 and see what was behind the tree.

—- —- —-

I cut the tree on Route 206. There was an area with items and grass behind it. Raiden and Lux found 1 Burn Heal, 1 Super Repel, 2 Rawst Berry, and 1 Poison Barb for me. I also caught a Gligar here. I scanned it with the Pokedex while Jet was battling it, discovering it would evolve into something called a Glicegor. I thought that Gligar was annoying, but its evolution could be useful later. There were also some trainers here, so I battled them as well.

—- —- —-

The next area was a cave. It was called Wayward cave according to the map app. After scanning the cave, I figured out there were no new pokemon to catch. I leveled up Roselia instead, bringing her to lv 30 like most of the team.

I followed the cave's path around. Raiden had to smash several rocks on the way. Some were in the pathway, and others I had him smash to see if they would give me any items. Raiden and Lux collected 3 Nugget, 1 Star piece, 1 Max revive, tm 29 Psychic, 1 Red shard, and 1 Razor fang from smashing all the rocks.

On the ground and in other parts of the cave Lux and Raiden collected 1 Green Shard, 1 Escape Rope, 1 Super Potion, 1 Blue Shard, 1 Great Ball, 1 Revive, and tm 32 Double team. The parasite thought it saw some people up ahead (which would probably be trainers) so I grabbed the tm and hm case from my pack and started going through the moves. I taught Psychic (tm 29) to Gallade, taught Grass knot (tm 86) to Roselia, and taught Ice beam (tm 13) and Dig (tm 28) to Jet. Jet knew Aqua jet, Quick attack, Pursuit, and Swift. I got rid of Quick attack and Pursuit in order to teach him these moves.

After Hitmonlee broke a rock (yes another one) a girl walked over to me. She was wearing blue jeans, a purple t-shirt, and had dark brown hair, which the parasite informed me.  
"Hey, can I travel with you through this cave? I seem to have gotten lost,"  
I shrugged, not sure if I really wanted a tag-along at the moment. I wasn't sure I'd want one period actually.

The girl must have seen the answer I would give on my face, because she started speaking again.  
"I will battle with you and can heal our pokemon after each battle,"  
* Wonder if she knows Cheryl, she seems similar ... *  
I blinked. "What pokemon do you have?"  
"I have a Kadabra at lv 26." she said.  
I smiled. "Sure, then,"

I went first, leading Mira around the cave's many halls and passages. We fought against 5 sets of trainers who wanted to double-battle. In total, that was ten trainers. I was glad there were no pokemon for me to catch in here since her Kadabra attacked everything, not just pokemon from trainer battles. During these battles, Lux and Raiden each got to lv 35 and Casey (Ponyta) got to lv 37.  
* Good he'll evolve soon. This EXP. share is really useful. *

Along with battling trainers, there were four rocks for Hitmonlee to smash. I got 1 Yellow shard, 1 Blue shard, 1 Green shard, and 1 Magnet from the rocks he crushed. Lux gathered a Great ball and a Red shard, bringing them to me as well.

After all the items were gathered and the trainers were beaten, it was time to leave the cave. There was nothing of interest left to do in the cave, which I ascertained by using the map. When we finally arrived at the cave entrance, Mira said she had to go. She gave me her poke-etch number, then walked away. Unlike Cheryl she did not give me an item for helping her.

Outside the cave, the parasite took over. It moved with purpose, going around the cave a few times before stopping. It stopped at an entrance to the cave I didn't recognize. After getting there, it backed off, giving me control once more.  
* Wonder what that was about ... *

—- —- —-

In the second entrance (which the map called the Secret entrance) Hitmonlee and Gallade located 1 Dusk Stone, 1 Max Ether, 1 Grip Claw, and 1 Rare Candy and brought them to me. I used the 'scan area' app, discovering one new pokemon I could catch here. It was called Gible. Apparently, it was a dragon-ground type. I captured two of them, planning to trade one with Koji and keep the other.

The cave was very complicated, having a lot of ledges, mounds, and other obstacles to deal with. After I caught the 2 Gible, the parasite took over in order to navigate the cave. It used my bike, riding over ledges and mounds with ease.

After quite a while of riding, the parasite stopped the bike, got off, leaned it against a wall, and surrendered control to me. A picture it sent let me know there was a small cave (yes, a cave within a cave - so funny) in front of me. I went inside. Lux ran off, coming back with a tm. This was tm 26 Earthquake. Once the item was put away the parasite took over again in order to get us out of the cave. And of course, it used the bike to do so.

Out of the cave, I was given control again. I stayed on the bike, turning so I could cycle to Eterna city once more. I wanted to grab the Gible for training. It was the first dragon-type I'd gotten, and I wanted to try it out. Along with psychic and fighting types, I wanted to try out fire, dark, and dragon types. All five types would hopefully make a great team later on.

In Eterna, I went to the 'center. I healed everyone, then made my way to a pc. I switched Jet with one of the Gible, this one being a male. After that was done, I started back toward Route 206.

Once there, Raiden decided he wanted to go into a poke ball. I'd never officially caught him. He tugged on the straps of my pack, doing so 'till it dropped to the ground. I heard him rifling through it, the parasite confirming that for me. He pulled out a poke ball, then tapped it and disappeared inside.  
* That was odd, thought he liked being out? *

I grabbed Gible's ball from my belt and let him out. He ran around for a bit, (something I didn't need the images the parasite sent me to know) then leaned against my legs. I picked him up, running my hands over the protrusions on his head. They were supposed to resemble jet engines or something, but I thought they looked more like fins.  
"How does Skar sound for a name?" I asked.  
He made a happy sound and playfully bit my hand, which hurt.  
* Not as much as when he fights another pokemon I hope. If he can't tell how hard to bite to inflict major damage we're gonna have a problem. *  
The bite left a few small marks, but nothing too serious.  
* Guess I was lucky. *

I had Roselia cut some more trees, which I'd missed earlier. Behind them was a Pp up, an item that would increase the number of times a move could be used. I put that away and knelt down, laying Skar on the ground. He ran around again then came up to me and leaned against me.  
* Well, as long as he doesn't go too far, that's alright. *

—- —- —-

The area after Route 206 was Route 207. I'd been here before, but the section I was at now hadn't been accessible previously. Lux teleported away and brought me some berries when he came back. They were Oran, Cheri, and Bluk. There were two Oran berry, while the others only had one. Skar ran away and then returned with a Super potion and a Revive. Once all the items were found I kept going.

Orburgh city was just beyond Route 207. This made sense since it was the same route I'd gotten Lauren (Machop at the time) and Casey at before. In the Pokemart, I bought 4 Super potions. Since I didn't need anything else from there, I left the shop.

Back on Route 207 the parasite gave me images of the area. There were ledges and mounds here, which I hadn't noticed before. The parasite seized control, got on the bike, then rode on the odd terrain. There were a few trainers to battle, which it dealt with for me as well. It mostly used Gible, (a lv 18) which I'd wanted to train with anyway. Skar was given the Luck incense prior to any of the battling.

When the terrain was done being explored, I was in control once more. The parasite sent me an image of another cave up ahead, which I walked toward. Gabby appeared seemingly out of no-where and stopped before I could go in.  
"Rafe!"

"How's it goin'?" she asked, putting a hand on my arm.  
Skar growled menacingly at her, but she didn't move away.  
"Sorry about that. Been doin' great." I said.  
Skar growled again.  
"Don't mind him, he's just protective."

"What pokemon is that?" she asked.  
"He's a Gible, a dragon-ground type,"  
"Wow, you found a dragon! I am so jealous! Can I have one too?"  
I rolled my eyes behind the goggles.  
"I'd havta catch another one for you. I got two, but the other's for Koji."

She huffed. "You two goin' out then?"  
I thought about that for a moment. Were we? We'd agreed to hang out more and kissed quite a lot, but we hadn't talked about dating.

I ran a hand through my hair awkwardly before answering.  
"Not exactly."  
She gripped my hand next, probably something that she thought would annoy me enough to talk.  
"Come on bro! Ya gotta tell me."  
I sighed, gently removing her hand from my arm.  
"We've made out some and hung out mostly. I'm goin' ta see him again tonight, maybe we can talk about datin' then,"

She sighed, putting her hand back onto my arm - gently this time.  
"Sorry bro, 'thought you were hidin' things from me."  
"It's alright. If you were anyone else I woulda punched ya though."  
She laughed. "Even mom?"  
I shrugged. "Not sure I'd be tellin' mom at all. That would be sooo awkward."  
"Definitely,"

"Was there a reason you came over here? Did the professor give you a break or something?" I asked a few minutes later.  
"Yes! Thanks for reminding me,"  
I heard some shuffling, the parasite giving me an image of her going through her pack.  
"Here ya go bro. The first one is a chip for the Dowsing machine app, the second is the Versus seeker app ... on a chip as well."  
I smiled as she put both chips in my hand.  
"What do they do?" I asked.

While she explained, I put the Dowsing machine app chip into my poke-etch. It started to download while she talked.  
"The Dowsing machine app is used to find items, specifically items hidden from plain sight."  
I nodded.

Before she could jump into an explanation about the other app, the download completed. I pulled out the chip and put in the other one. The download commenced as she started speaking again.  
"The Versus seeker app will allow you to find people to battle. It is designed to let you find trainers you've battled previously who want to challenge you again."

When the Versus seeker was done downloading, Gabby gave me a hug.  
"Will you try them out?" she asked.  
I nodded.  
"Good, the professor wanted to make sure you got those since they will help you on your journey. How many pokemon have you captured anyway?"

I thought for a moment.  
"Eighteen. I also have gotten 7 from people giving them to me or trading. I have an egg, too,"  
"Nice! You must have a lot of pokemon in your Pokedex then."  
I shrugged. "Guess so,"

"Was there anything you needed to tell me before I left bro?" Gabby asked.  
"Yeah actually. I caught a Cleffa for you."  
"Cool! We'll trade later. Good luck on your journey, gotta go Rafe,"  
Then she left.

—- —- —-

In the cave (which was another part of Mt. Coronet) Skar got me an Energy powder. I picked up the little dragon-type after, rubbing the fin-like appendages on his head. He growled happily and wrapped an arm around my arm.  
* Good, he's warming up to me. *

I scanned Skar with the Pokedex, learning he would evolve at level 24. I also scanned the cave for new pokemon, but there were none. There were also no trainers here, which the parasite let me know.  
* Might as well evolve Skar right now. He's a lot lower in level than the rest of the team anyway. *

I took the time to work with the Gible, leveling him up along with Ponyta, who still had the EXP share. I taught him Earthquake (tm 26) and Dig (tm 28) which gave him two ground-type moves to go along with the Dragon rage and Sandstorm attacks he already knew. He evolved at lv 24 into Gabite. In this new form he was much taller, had more fins, and was very protective. Well, the Pokedex said he would be very protective, but since I hadn't come across any people yet, I wasn't sure about that.

I had just gotten Skar to lv 29 when something interesting happened. Casey popped out of his ball and started galloping around. I was confused by this, what could he be doing? The parasite got all his movements, sending them to me as images. After running about for a little while, the horse stopped, standing still for a moment. Then, he started glowing, something which I thought meant he was evolving. The parasite confirmed this for me, giving me images of how he changed. He gained height, got slimmer, and also grew a horn on his head.  
"Rapidash!" he cried, coming over to me.

I held out a hand for him to sniff, something which he nuzzled joyfully. I pulled out an Oran berry and gave it to him. He munched on it noisily. When he was done he grabbed my jacket sleeve in his teeth and tugged lightly.  
"What is it boy?" I asked.  
* I think he wants you to ride him. * the parasite whispered into my mind.  
I shrugged, reaching out to grab the horses' mane.

Since he was a fire-horse, I expected to be burned. He liked me as a Ponyta, which meant he wouldn't burn me, but I had no idea what he'd be like now. I'd endured worse at the labs before Gabby found me and brought me home, so I wasn't afraid of being burned. Surprisingly, the mane wasn't hot.  
* Hmmm, he still likes me, good. *

I lay my other hand on his neck, then jumped, landing half on top of the horses' back. I laughed at myself and hopped down, trying again to get onto his back. After a few more tries I finally got it, seating myself comfortably on his back. I grabbed onto his mane and smiled a little.  
"Let's go,"

He clopped along while I used the map to find out how to continue on in the cave. I could hear (and see thanks to the parasite) both the path as well as Lux and Skar walking along beside us. Well, Skar was walking, while the psychic-fighting type sort of floated-walked. Sometimes he would stop to look at something, then have to teleport to where we were in order to not get left behind.

A staircase lay before us a few minutes later. A man (the same one from the lake and the statue in Eterna city) stopped me before I could go upstairs. He told me about the history of Mt. Coronet, which I listened avidly to. After he was done he left. I (Casey and I along with the other two pokemon) climbed the stairs once he was gone.

This staircase was one of two, and I hoped we'd chosen the right one. Skar ran off and brought back a Stardust when we arrived on the upper floor. There was an exit up here, so I concluded that we'd gone the right way. We went out using the exit.

Route 208 was on the other side of the cave. After scanning the area, I found out there were two pokemon I wanted. Bibarel, the evolved form of Bidoof was the first one. I hadn't wanted a Bidoof because it was boring and just another normal-type that wasn't very strong. Bibarel however, was a normal-water type, which could be a lot more useful. I got one of those and then we kept moving.

Along the route, Lux ran into his smallest form, a Ralts. I had him knock out the little psychic-type, making sure it was a girl before capturing it. Ralts had two final evolutions and they were based on gender and whether or not you had a Dawn stone. I wanted to get the final female evolution, Gardevoir, so I snagged the female Ralts. I also found another Ralts (yes, another girl) and captured it to trade with Koji.

After getting the new additions, Lux and Skar went off somewhere. They came back with 1 Great Ball, 1 Ether, and 1 Tinymushroom. I picked 2 Nanab Berry, 2 Razz Berry, 2 Bluk Berry, and 2 Pinap Berry. After getting the items, there were trainers to fight. There were five in total.

I made sure to work with the rest of the pokemon on the team while I was here. There weren't any new pokemon, but there were some that I could use to help train my existing pokemon. I leveled Rocket, and Gabise to lv 35. Casey was already lv 40 from just evolving into Rapidash and Roselia was only there to cut down trees. I didn't typically keep grass-types with me, so having her lower-level than the others wasn't too bad. She was level 30 already, which was enough to take down most opponents at this point. Lux and Raiden got to lv 37 as well.

I battled the five trainers, then a man wearing a martial arts outfit walked up to me. The parasite gave me a very detailed image of his outfit, which I thought was kind of weird. He gave me an item called the Odd keystone, then went off somewhere. I put the item away, then moved along.

The parasite showed me an image of a house nearby, so I made my way over to it. Inside, a man gave me a berry. It was a Persim berry, but the man said he could give me 1 of any berry he had in his garden a day.

Outside the house, a girl came up to me. She asked if I wanted a new app for my poke-etch. I said yes, and she handed me a chip. I put the chip into my poke-etch as she started speaking.

"That's the Berry searcher app. It will keep track of berry locations throughout Sinnoh. So when you wanna find a certain type of berry, you can use it." the girl said.  
I nodded, listening to the little noises my poke-etch made as the download process was going on.  
"Use it well," the girl said before leaving.

When the app finished downloading, I tried it out. According to said app, I could find all the berries I'd picked here every day. I turned off the app, climbing back onto Casey's back and telling him to move forward.

—- —- —-

After I made it through the gate house at the end of the route, I was in Hearthome city. A pokemon ran into me (I'd recalled Casey to his ball just before going into the gate house). This pokemon turned out to be a Buneary, who for some reason was by herself.  
"Buneary!" she cried as I gently rubbed her back.

Footsteps alerted me to the fact that someone was coming. The parasite musta been so fascinated by the little bunny that it forgot to get images for me. That happened sometimes, but it was mostly people that distracted it so much.  
"Hi, thanks for stopping her."

I shrugged, gently nudging the bunny forward.  
"So you're her trainer?" I asked.  
I only knew it was a girl due to the parasite's image-sending.  
"Yeah, my name's Keira."  
I smiled a little.  
"I'm Rafe,"

"Well thanks for that, Rafe. I only caught her a few days ago and she's always running off."  
I ran a hand through my hair, feeling a bit uneasy.  
* Of course, because she's a stranger and a girl, that doesn't help. *  
I had nothing against girls personally, but I usually had trouble relating to them. Gabby'd teased me dozens of times, saying that this fact alone made me gay.

"So ... I was going to enter the next contest here in Hearthome. You do contests, Rafe?" Keira asked.  
I reached a hand out, thankfully touching Luxs' shoulder instead of empty air. Although he was now a Gallade, and thus not the "emotion pokemon" anymore, he must have sensed some unease from me.

I smiled a little.  
"My mom's a coordinator, but I haven't tried out contests yet myself."  
"So you go for the gyms then?" she asked.  
I nodded. "Yeah,"

"Well, if you're interested, meet me at the contest hall tomorrow. I can get you some clothes and teach you how things work."  
"I think I know enough about how they work, but it would be nice to have someone show me around the building." I said.  
"Oh ok, then. I was hoping to spend some time with you ..."  
* Absolutely not if you're lookin' for a date. I already have my sights set on the guy I want ... *  
I chuckled to myself at the joke, knowing I'd never set my sights on anything - at least with my own eyes that is.

"What's so funny?" Keira asked.  
I sobered, deciding to tell her my thoughts. Hopefully, knowing would get her off my back.  
"I'm ... not interested in a date."  
"Why not! I'm a nice girl ..."

I sighed, running a hand through my hair once more.  
"I believe you, but that's not the reason. I'm gay, so what you havta offer isn't what I'm lookin' for." I said.  
She hummed. "Why didn't you say so in the first place? I would like to hang out with you though, you seem like a nice guy,"

I smiled a little.  
"Thanks,"  
"Will I see you tomorrow?" Keira asked.  
"Yeah, I'll be there,"

I went straight to the 'center after talking to Keira. I healed up the team, then left. Outside I found myself shoved aside mentally, the parasite taking over again. It walked to the house next to the 'center, going inside.

In the house, control was given back to me abruptly. Footsteps made their way toward me, a woman, which the parasite sent me an image of.  
"Do you want an Eevee?" she asked.  
I was ecstatic.  
* Finally, an Eevee, wanted one for so long ... *

"Yeah," I said enthusiastically.  
"Do you have six pokemon with you?" the woman asked.  
I nodded. "Yeah,"  
She sighed softly.  
"I can't give it to you yet then. Go and make room for it, then come back and I'll give you your Eevee,"  
I nodded, exiting the house.

At the 'center, I went through what pokemon I had. I decided to put Rocket in the pc. My next choice woulda been Casey, but after bonding with him more, I wanted to keep the Rapidash with me. With that done, I now had five pokemon. They were Gallade, Hitmonlee, Roselia, Rapidash, and Gabite.

Back at the house, the woman greeted me warmly.  
"You have five pokemon now?" she asked.  
I nodded.  
"Good, here is your Eevee," the lady said, putting something furry in my arms.  
The parasite sent me an image of the brown and white pokemon.  
"It's a male, just so you know," the lady said.  
I smiled, thanked her, then left the building.

I went into the 'center again after that. Koji called out to me as I entered.  
"Hey Rafe!"

I stopped to wait for him. I rubbed the little foxs' ears (the parasite had made absolutely sure I knew it was a fox) as I waited.  
"Thanks for waiting. How ya doin' Rafe?"  
I shrugged. "Caught a few new pokemon on the way here and just got this Eevee,"

All was silent for a moment.  
"You got an Eevee! You are so lucky!"  
I hugged the Eevee against my chest.  
"Yeah,"  
"Well, I got some new pokemon too. Pick up anything to trade?"  
I pulled off my goggles and smiled widely in his direction.  
"Yep. How do Ralts and Gible sound?"

He put a hand on my wrist, gently squeezing.  
"Ralts sounds great, but what's a Gible?" he asked.  
"A dragon-type. I've got his evolution, Gabite, right here."  
I felt Skar come up to me as I said that, the dragon-pokemon not growling for once. He'd been doing that a lot lately, ever since he evolved.  
"He's ... uhhh very strong-looking,"

I smirked. "I know he looks a little strange, but he's really strong,"  
"Ok, so you got duplicates of Ralts and Gible right?" Koji asked.  
I nodded. "Yeah,"  
"Alright, let's trade," said Koji.

I went to the pc and grabbed Gible and one of the Ralts. Koji must have grabbed what he wanted to trade, 'cause he gently wrapped a hand around my wrist a short time later.  
"Got them?" he asked.  
"Uh-huh,"  
I was finding it a little hard to think again, having him so close.

I put Ralts in the trading machine first. Koji placed his trade in, then the machine made the trade. I picked up the ball and released the pokemon inside, not sure what to expect. A cry of "Sneasel!" greeted me.  
"Sneasel's a dark-type. I found it wandering around in Eterna forest."

I scanned it with the Pokedex.  
"Sneasel ... dark-type and ice-type ... no other available data ..." the machine said.  
"It's from another region I think, but since you wanted to try out dark-types, I thought you'd like it."

I knelt down and reached out a hand to touch the new pokemon. It (I suspected it was a male) nuzzled against my hand. I was holding the Eevee from earlier, so I didn't pick it up.  
"It's great," I said.  
"It's a he actually," Koji said.  
I smiled. "Good,"

The next trade was my Ralts for ... whatever Koji had gotten for me.  
"This one's an egg. I got it from a friend," Koji said after the machine made the trade.  
I shifted a little, freeing a hand, and gently picked up the egg.  
"So what's inside it?" I asked.  
Koji chuckled a bit.  
"Something I know you'll love. That's gonna be a Torchic when it hatches,"  
* Torchic ... isn't that the Hoenn fire-type starter? *

"Hoenn's fire-type starter?" I asked.  
"Yep! It evolves into a fire-fighting dual type too!"  
I grinned, cradling the egg the best I could in one hand. I put the egg down (gently of course) and recalled the Sneasel. I also placed the Eevee on the ground.

I stood up, walking toward Koji. I hugged him tightly, tempted to kiss him too. I decided against that for now, not sure he'd want so many people to see.  
"You like them?" he asked, hugging me back.  
"Definitely," I said, putting my hands on the same spot as the night before.

I went over to the pc when I was finally able to let the boy go. I chose to put Sneasel in there for now, grabbing Meditite to work with instead. I kept the egg, planning to hatch it. Now I had Lux, Raiden, Casey, Eevee, Skar, and the egg. I'd work with all of them tomorrow (also looking into doing contests) but it was late (23:00) and I was tired from all the traveling. I bade Koji good night, withdrew Gabite to his ball, picked up the Eevee, then walked to the counter. I asked for a room, going there after receiving the key.


End file.
